Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Salman Stores strengthened their grip on the Khimji Ramdas-sponsored A Division title with a 39-run victory against OCT Muscat at Ministry of Sports Affairs Ground in Amerat on Saturday.
Asim Kamal and Imran Asghar Ali performed exceptionally well to power their side to a fighting win. Asked to bat first, Salman Stores found itself in deep trouble reeling at 43 for three and then at 115 for seven before being bundled out for 145 in the 33rd over. Imran Asghar Ali (51 off 47) and Asad Ali (32 off 28) were the only notable scorers.
Zubair Akbar Al Balushi bowled brilliantly to claim five wickets. Shuaib Ismail Al Balushi was equally good, taking three wickets while Muhammed Ali Akbar Al Balushi bagged two.
OCT Muscat found the going tough against a strong Salman Stores bowling attack and was dismissed for a paltry 106 in the 27th over. Muhammed Ali Akbar Al Balushi was the main scorer with 57 off 76 balls. Asim Kamal led the bowling honours with a superb four-wicket spell while Imran Asghar Ali and Muzammil Ilyas claimed three and two wickets respectively. Remarkably enough, Asghar’s three wickets cost him just one run.
Brief scores: Salman Stores 145 all out in 32.3 overs (Imran Asghar Ali 51, Asad Ali 32; Zubair Akbar Al Balushi 5/28, Shuaib Ismail Al Balushi 3/22, Muhammed Ali Akbar Al Balushi 2/34) bt OCT Muscat 106 all out in 26.4 overs (Muhammed Ali Akbar Al Balushi 57; Asim Kamal 4/29, Imran Asghal Ali 3/1, Muzammil Ilyas 2/24).
Ashok stars for Al Mada
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Ashok Patel steered Al Mada Engineering to an exciting five-wicket win against MCCC New in an Al Ansari Group-sponsored B Division clash at Muscat Municipality Ground II in Al Amerat on Friday.
Requiring 193 to win, Al Mada raced to the target in the 19th over thanks to a magnificent 84 off just 33 balls by opener Ashok and an equally good 20-ball unbeaten 43 by Deepak Bhandari. Mohammed Samir and Neev Poojari claimed three and two wickets for MCCC New.
Brief scores: MCCC New 192 for 7 in 30 overs (Mohammed Samir 45, Ali Asgar Saifee 32, Indunil Udara 24; Rajesh Shetty 2/27, Wasim Abdul Karim 2/37) lost to Al Mada Engineering 193 for 5 in 18.5 overs (Ashok Patel 84, Deepak Bhandari 43 n.o., Mohammed Samir 3/49, Neev Poojari 2/37).
Ghulam lifts OCT Al Hail
OCT Al Hail rode on Ismail Ghulam’s superb 60 off 53 balls to beat New Prism by five wickets in a Raha Poly Products-sponsored C Division match at Muscat Municipality Ground III.
New Prism posted 140 for six in 20 overs. Kamal Kaladharan (29 not out), Tejesh Shetty (28) and Hardik Patel (26) were the main scorers. Abdul Ghani and Mohamed Al Zadjali claimed two wickets each.
OCT Al Hail achieved the target in the final over thanks to brilliant batting by Ghulam, who received good support from Waleed Rahim (35 off 31) and Younis Rahim (27 off 20). Rakesh Sudhakar took two wickets.
Brief scores: New Prism 140 for 6 in 20 overs (Kamal Kaladharan 29, Tejesh Shetty 28, Hardik Patel 26; Abdul Ghani 2/19, Mohamed Al Zadjali 2/28) lost to OCT Al Hail 143 for 5 (Ismail Ghulam 60, Waleed Rahim 35, Younis Rahim 27; Rakesh Sudhakar 2/27).
Waves Engineering win
Waves Engineering Consultancy secured a thrilling last-over victory against Mott MacDonald in an Enhance-sponsored D Division match at Muscat Municipality Ground IV.
Invited to bat first, Mott MacDonald scored 162 for nine in 20 overs thanks to a fluent 51 off 41 by Savinraj Rajappan. Prakash Kesarkar (32 off 24) and Sagar Ingle (29 off 16) batted well too. Mohammed Umar and Mohammed Wasim Khatri bagged two wickets each.
Reeling at 75 for four, Waves Engineering recovered in time to secure an exciting win with five balls to spare. Safeer Abbas led the way with a fluent 49 off 37, getting good support from Kamaljot Singh who scored 26 off 16 balls. Tawsif Tambe and Savinraj Rajappan took two wickets each.
Brief scores: Mott MacDonald 162 for 9 in 20 overs (Savinraj Rajappan 51, Prakash Kesarkar 32, Sagar Ingle 26; Mohammed Umar 2/23, Mohammed Wasim Khatri 2/30) lost to Waves Engineering Consultancy 163 for 7 (Safeer Abbas 49, Kamaljot Singh 26; Tawsif tambe 2/24, Savinraj Rajappan 2/28).
Adnan inspires Zubair
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In another D Division game, brilliant all-round show by Adnan Mehboob powered Zubair CT to a thrilling four-wicket win against Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan (MARH) at Muscat Municipality Ground I.
Asked to bat first, MARH posted 170 for eight on the board thanks to a power-packed 80 off 51 balls by Sami Ullah. Captain Jijo Abraham chipped in with a useful 23 off 17. Adnan Mehbood, Retheesh Gopinath and Fazal Khan all bagged two wickets each.
Opening the innings, Adnan struck a stylish 51 off 42 to lay the foundation for an exciting last-over finish. Leading from the front, captain Sunil Kumar Sadasivan hit a fighting 53 off 41 to ensure a well-deserved victory for his side with just two balls to spare.
Muhammed Ahsan and Ayaz Ahmed claimed three and two wickets respectively.
Brief scores: MARH 170 for 8 in 20 overs (Sami Ullah 80, Jijo Abraham 23; Adnan Mehboob 2/21, Retheesh Gopinath 2/23, Fazal Khan 2/25) lost to Zubair CT 171 for 6 in 19.4 overs (Sunil Kumar Sadasivan 53, Adnan Mehboob 51; Muhammed Ahsan 3/25, Ayaz Ahmed 2/26).
