Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: Filling in the mighty shoes of his teammate Ahmed Fayyaz Butt who is away on national duty in Namibia, left-arm paceman Mazhar Alam rose to the occasion with a five-wicket match-winning show as Enhance continued their march towards Muscat Pharmacy-sponsored Premier Division title, beating Passage to India (PTI) by two wickets in a narrow win at the Ministry of Sports Affairs Ground I in Al Amerat on Saturday.
All the top three teams have now played 11 games each with Enhance on top of the table with 31 points due to better net run rate while defending champion Assarain are currently second with 31 points and Muscat CT close behind with 27 points. With one more match each left for the top three, it’s anybody’s game from now on and an intense battle for the championship is likely to ensue in the coming days.
Opting to bowl first, Enhance dismissed PTI for a paltry 158 in 46.2 overs thanks to Mazhar’s magical spell in which he claimed five wickets for 35. Sanuth Ebrahim bowled equally well, taking three for 22. Syed Amir Ali (33), Arbaz Qureshi (31), Pruthviukumar Machhi (28) and Syed Amir Kaleem (27) were the only notable scorers.
PTI made Enhance sweat for runs but failed to keep them from crossing the line as the table toppers scored 159 for eight in 32.5 overs to secure a hard-fought two-wicket win. Unnikrishnan Nair (33 not out) forged a 56-run seventh-wicket partnership with Khurram Khan (28) to pull Enhance out of deep trouble after they were reduced to 84 for six in 18 overs. Opener Noorul Riaz contributed 22. Ihsan Ullah Khan claimed four wickets while Mohammed Zahir Siddiqui bagged two.
Brief scores: PTI 158 all out in 46.2 overs (Syed Amir Ali 33, Arbaz Qureshi 31, Pruthvikumar Machhi 28, Syed Amir Kaleem 27; Mazhar Alam 5/35, Sanuth Ebrahim 3/22) lost to Enhance 159 for 8 in 32.5 overs (Unnikrishnan Nair 33 n.o., Khurram Khan 28, Noorul Riaz 22; Ihsan Ullah Khan 4/56, Mohammed Zahir Siddiqui 2/51).
Munis destroys Al Turki
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Earlier, seven-wicket Munis Ansari ran through a bewildered Al Turki Enterprises batting line-up as Muscat CT collected vital points in a 99-run victory in another Premier Division clash at the same venue on Friday.
Asked to bat first, Muscat posted a significant 251 for six in 50 overs thanks to superb fifties by their top three batsmen Sudeep Chavan (77), Shoaib Khan (70) and Ayaan Khan (51 not out). Gopendra Bohara bagged two wickets.
Reeling at 15 for four, Al Turki were dismissed for 152 in 42.1 overs as Munis, swinging the ball at will, proved too hot to handle, returning remarkable match figures of 9.1 overs, three maidens, seven wickets for 16 runs. All-rounder Ayaan Khan claimed two for 34. Only Gulam Shaikh (48), Jigneshbhai Patel (31) and Suraj Kumar (30) were able to offer some resistance.
Brief scores: Muscat CT 251 for 6 in 50 overs (Sudeep Chavan 77, Shoaib Khan 70, Ayaan Khan 51 n.o.; Gopendra Bohara 2/40) bt Al Turki 152 all out in 42.1 overs (Gulam Shaikh 48, Jigneshbhai Patel 31, Suraj Kumar 30; Munis Ansari 7/16, Ayaan Khan 2/34).
Abbas shines for OCT Seeb
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Riding on the all-round brilliance of Abbas Al Balushi, who claimed three wickets and then slammed unbeaten 93, undefeated OCT Seeb trounced New Prism International to claim Al Ansari Group-sponsored C Division crown at Muscat Municipality Ground I.
Thanks to a series of superlative performances by their star players, specially Sufyan Mahmood, Yousuf Al Balushi, Issa Al Balushi and Abbas, OCT Seeb did not lose a single game this season to claim C Division title.
Batting first, New Prism was bundled out for 126 in 19.3 overs. Hardik Patel topscored with 32 off 24 while Sanket Santosh Kumar contributed 23 off 18. Issam Al balushi bagged four for 17 while Abbas claimed three for 15.
OCT Seeb overhauled the target in 17.1 overs, scoring 129 for six thanks to brilliant unbeaten 93 off 57 by Abbas. Kamal Kaladharan took two wickets.
Brief scores: New Prism International 126 in 19.3 overs (Hardik Patel 32, Sanket Santosh Kumar 23; Issam Al Balushi 4/17, Abbas Al Balushi 3/15) lost to OCT Seeb 129 for 6 in 17.1 overs (Abbas Al Balushi 93 n.o., Kamal Kaladharan 2/20).
