Cricket: ISM crowned U-13 champions, WCS clinches women’s title

Sports Wednesday 06/February/2019 16:08 PM
By: Times News Service
Cricket: ISM crowned U-13 champions, WCS clinches women’s title

MUSCAT: Indian School Muscat (ISM) were crowned Junior League Under-13 champions after beating Indian School Wadi Kabir (ISWK) by 15 runs thanks to a brilliant 61 off 53 balls by Aaryan Nishit Punja in the final played at Muscat Municipality ground in Amerat on Saturday.
Aaryan’s half century was the highlight of ISM’s 150 for 6 in 20 overs. Krish Shettigar batted well too for his breezy 40 off 28. Pavan Dhanasekar picked up two wickets.
Indian School Wadi Kabir paid the penalty for batting slowly and was restricted by ISM bowlers to only 135 for 6 in its quota of 20 overs. Openers Satwik Sundara (49) and Rohan Ramachandran (23) were involved in a 61-run partnership in 10 overs but ISWK lost track after that as the run rate kept climbing before the game got out of its hands. Aleem Matto claimed two wickets for 23 runs.
Brief scores: ISM 150 for 6 in 20 overs (Aaryan Nishit Punja 61 – 6x4, Krish Shettigar 40 – 5x4. Pavan Dhanasekar 2-29) beat ISWK 135 for 6 in 20 overs (Satwik Sundara 49 – 4x4, Rohan Ramachandran 23. Aleem Matto 2-23) by 15 runs.
WCS win
Women’s Cricket Sohar (WCS) clinched the Women’s League title on account of a better run rate over runner-up Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) as the two top teams ended the tournament on seven points each with three wins and one tie each from five games.
In its last league match against Indian School Wadi Kabir (ISWK), WCS secured a big 83-run victory to improve its net run rate to 0.979 against PSM’s 0.178 in the final team standings.
Batting first, WCS posted a solid 173 for 4 on the board in 20 overs thanks to major contributions from Sakshi Shetty (53), Bhavya Shetty (43 not out) and Kavita Soudatti (27).
ISWK failed to make an impression, managing only 90 for 6 in 20 overs. Only Jayadhanya Gunasekar (27) and Afsha Ashfaq Khalifa (25) batted with some authority. Sakshi Shetty bowled well, taking two wickets for only 7 runs.
Brief scores: Women’s Cricket Sohar 173 for 4 in 20 overs (Sakshi Shetty 53 – 10x4, Bhavya Shetty 43 not out – 3x4, Kavita Soudatti 27 – 5x4) thrashed ISWK 90 for 6 in 20 overs (Jayadhanya Gunasekar 27 – 5x4, Afsha Ashfaq Khalifa 25 – 4x4. Sakshi Shetty 2-07) by 83 runs.