Phil Salt makes history with rapid-fire sixes during England vs Oman clash, becomes 1st player to achieve this remarkable feat

In a do-or-die showdown at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, England ruthlessly dismantled Oman's hopes with a clinical display by winning the Group B game by eight wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday, June 14.

After winning the toss, the England cricket team decided to bowl first and then restricted Oman to a mere 47 runs, thanks to fiery spells from Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, and Mark Wood, who all claimed three wickets each to play a key role in the rivals batting collapse in Antigua.

After which, Archer, Wood, and Rashid became the first trio to take three or more wickets in an innings at the Men's T20 World Cup. Notably, Oman's total of 47 runs against England was the fourth-lowest score by any team in the Men's T20 World Cup.

The lowest total remains 39, allotted by the Netherlands against Sri Lanka in 2014 and by Uganda against the West Indies last week. Additionally, the Netherlands were bowled out for 44 by Sri Lanka in the 2021 edition of the tournament.

Phil Salt achieves a rare feat during England’s dominant win over Oman in T20 World Cup 2024

Meanwhile, tasked with chasing down the target of 48 runs swiftly to boost their net run rate, the Jos Buttler-led England team launched into action with intent and purpose. The defending champions’ chase began explosively as the opener, Phil Salt, unleashed back-to-back sixes off Oman’s Bilal Khan.

However, despite the early onslaught, Bilal Khan remained resolute and struck back immediately, dismissing Salt with a clever delivery to end his explosive start. But Salt achieved a rare feat with these two sixes, becoming the first-ever player to hit two sixes on the first two balls of a team innings in international cricket.

He also became the only second batter in men's T20I history to hit sixes off the first two balls of an innings. The first instance occurred in 2022 when Tanzania's Ivan Selemani achieved this feat against Rwanda's Martin Akayezu.

Another man was Spain's Awais Ahmed, who hit consecutive sixes after a no-ball was bowled by Joseph Burrows during their chase of 11 against the Isle of Man in 2023.

Well, England, determined to surpass Scotland's net run rate, continued their charge under with the skipper Buttler hammering a quickfire knock of unbeaten 24 off 8 balls to help his team chase down the target in just 3.1 overs at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Friday.

England's historic win over Oman sets new T20 World Cup record

Meanwhile, England's victory over Oman, chasing down a target of 48 with 101 balls remaining, set a new record for the largest margin in terms of balls to spare in men's T20 World Cup history. England surpassed Sri Lanka's previous record of 90 balls spared against the Netherlands in 2014 when they chased down 40 runs in five overs.

Furthermore, England's win by 101 balls is now the largest by any Full Member team in men's T20Is, overtaking Sri Lanka's 90-ball victory margin against the Netherlands. England's massive win also ranked them joint-ninth in terms of balls spared in all men's T20Is.