Oman fields first against co-host Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup

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PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Oman won the toss and elected to field against co-host Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup Group B game on Thursday.

Sri Lanka will be without its premier T20 bowler Wanindu Hasaranga, who was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after suffering a hamstring injury during the home team’s win over Ireland in the opening group game.

Oman is at the bottom of the table after a heavy loss to Zimbabwe but captain Jatinder Singh said “one game doesn’t define” how his team plays in the tournament.

“Hardly anything to pick from the first game,” Singh said at the toss. “We don’t get opportunity to play with test-playing nations, so this is a golden opportunity.”

Sri Lanka brought in leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha in place of Hasaranga and captain Dasun Shanaka said he hoped the pitch will play quicker in the day game and suit his fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera and Matheesha Pathirana.

Nepal, which nearly pulled off an upset victory against England in its opening Group C game, will take on Italy at Mumbai. Co-host India, which recovered well through captain Suryakumar Yadav’s half century to beat the United States in Group A game, will play Namibia at New Delhi.

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Lineups:

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Pavan Rathnayake, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka (captain), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana.

Oman: Jatinder Singh (captain), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Mohammad Nadeem, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla, Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Jay Odedra

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket