Muscat: Sandeep Goud and Ayaan Khan powered Muscat CT to an exciting five-wicket win over Al Turki NMC in the Premier Division T20 game at the Ministry of Sports Affairs Ground I in Al Amerat on Friday.
Invited to bat first, Al Turki scored 153 for seven in 20 overs thanks to solid 60 off 50 balls by captain Twinkal Bhandari. Sandeep Goud bowled brilliantly to slow down Al Turki’s charge, taking four wickets for 23.
Struggling at 90 for five in the 15th over, Muscat needed a special effort to win the game and it came from its most reliable player Ayaan Khan who smashed unbeaten 52 off 22 to steer his side to victory in the final over. Muscat overhauled the total in 19.2 overs, scoring 158 for five. Rajeshkumar Ranpura scored 37 off 39 while Sandeep Goud remained not out on 19 off 12, forging a match-winning 68-run unbroken partnership for the sixth wicket with Ayaan. Gopendra Bohara and Adnan-ul Haq bagged two wickets each.
Brief scores: Al Turki NMC 153 for 7 in 20 overs (Twinkal Bhandari 60; Sandeep Goud 4/23) lost to Muscat CT 158 for 5 in 19.2 overs (Ayaan Khan 52 n.o., Rajeshkumar Ranpura 37, Jatinder Singh 23; Gopendra Bohara 2/30, Adnan-ul Haq 2/35).
Amir Kaleem lits PTI
In another Premier Division T20 match at the same venue, Passage to India (PTI) secured a thrilling three-wicket victory against Enhance thanks to a little gem of an innings from captain Syed Amir Kaleem who scored an unbeaten 37 off 28 to see his side home.
Asked to bat first, Enhance paid a big price for batting slowly, setting PTI a modest target of 133 to win. Khawar Ali (43 off 29) and Khurram Khan (37 not out off 28) were the main scorers. Syed Amir Kaleem was the most economical bowler for PTI, giving away just 14 runs in his four-over spell.
Teetering at 46 for four and then 87 for seven in the 16th over, PTI were rescued by 47-run unbroken partnership between Amir Kaleem (39 off 24) and Muhammed Zahir Siddiqui (25 off 13), scoring 134 for seven in 19.3 overs to score a three-wicket win. Khawar Ali and Nestor Dhamba took two wickets each for Enhance.
Brief scores: Enhance 132 for 6 in 20 overs (Khawar Ali 43, Khurram Khan 37 n.o.) lost to PTI 134 for 7 in 19.3 overs (Syed Amir Kaleem 39 n.o., Muhammed Zahir Siddiqui 25 n.o).
Eagles down Renaissance
Omkar Pramod Ozardak and Pranav Mehta led MDC Enhance Eagles to a five-wicket victory against Renaissance in an A Division T20 game at MOS Ground II on Saturday.
Batting first, Renaissance were restricted to 137 for eight in 20 overs. Faizal Jerome (39 off 39) and Dushan Praveena (unbeaten 26 off 15) were the main scorers. Omkar Pramod and Guru Prasanna bagged three and two wickets respectively.
In reply, Eagles recovered from a worrisome 42 for three to post a five-wicket win, scoring 138 for five in 18 overs thanks to Pranav’s 41-ball 66 not out. Aneermon Abdul Rahman scored 22 off 17. Abdul Rauf and Faizal Jerome claimed two wickets each.
Brief scores: Renaissance 137 for 8 in 20 overs (Faizal Jerome 39, Dushan Praveena 26 n.o., Omkar Pramod 2/30, Guru Prasanna 2/14) lost to MDC Enhance 138 for 5 in 18 overs (Pranav Mehta 66 n.o., Aneermon Abdul Rahman 22; Abdul Rauf 2/23, Faizal Jerome 2/30).