Wednesday 30 / April / 2025
Muscat: Oman all-rounder Muhammed Nadeem found his mojo with the ball, casting a spell on Passage to India batsmen who were at sea against his seaming deliveries. They were shot out for 83 in a Premier League T20 clash at Oman Cricket Turf ground 1 in Amerat.
As a result Assarain coasted to their fifth successive win in what seems to be another fruitful season full of accolades and trophies.
Batting first, PTI was reduced to 24 for 4 with Nadeem taking all the four wickets. It never seemed to recover from the early setbacks and was dismissed for an embarrassing 83 in the 16th over. Nadeem returned with an outstanding figure of 5 wickets for 7 runs in 3.2 overs. Sanuth Ebrahim and Rafiullah bowled well too, taking two wickets each.
Assarain surpassed the small total without much sweat on a hot day, scoring 85 for 4 in 14.1 overs, Sanuth Ebrahim (21) and Nadeem (18) being their notable scorers.
Brief scores (Premier League T20): PTI 83 all out in 15.2 overs (Khurram Khan 25 – 1x4, 2x6, Wasim Ali 24 – 1x4, 1x6. Muhammed Nadeem 5-07, Sanuth Ebrahim 2-08, Rafiullah 2-12) lost to Assarain 85 for 4 in 14.1 overs (Sanuth Ebrahim 21 – 2x4, 1x6, Muhammed Nadeem 18 – 1x4, 2x6, Sindo Michael 18 – 3x4. Amir Kaleem 2-24) by 6 wickets.
Wins for AER, Alm Alpha
A Division 50-over League saw a couple of alarming mismatches over the weekend with AER and Arm Alpha scoring massive wins over hapless opponents. Opting to bat first, AER posted a huge 357 on the board before being all out in the last over. Batting at number seven, Danish Mohammed slammed a magnificent 173 off 100 balls, tonking 11 fours and 14 sixes in an astonishing assault on Sarco attack. Ghazanfar Iqbal and Mohammed Nooran contributed 56 and 41 respectively. Dileepa Srilal and Zahid Hafiz picked up three wickets each.
Sarco failed to mount a serious challenge and folded up for 185 in 37 overs, Ajay Menon (35) and Sathisha Achary (31) being its main scorers. Tauseef Ahmed and Imran Rijvi were AER’s best bowlers, taking three wickets each.
Brief scores (A Division League): AER 357 all out in 49.4 overs (Danish Mohammed 173 – 11x4, 14x6, GhazanfarIqbal 54 – 6x4, 3x6, Mohammed Nooran 41 – 4x4, 1x6, MuzaffarHasan 36 – 4x4, 1x6. Dileepa Srilal 3-49, Zahid Hafiz 3-52) thrashed Sarco 185 all out in 37 overs (Ajay Menon 35 – 2x4, 1x6, Sathisha Achary 31 – 5x4, 1x6, Rakesh Patel 29 – 6x4. Tauseef Ahmed 3-20, Imran Rijvi 3-42) by 172 runs.
In another one-sided encounter, Arm Alpha walked away with a 253-run win over OCT Muscat on Saturday.
Alpha amassed 334 for 6 in 50 overs thanks to superb batting by Chamindalakmal (96), Mudassar Iqbal (63 not out) and Nalinda Prasad (60) who slammed 5 sixes in his 27-ball knock.
OCT Muscat fell without a fight, scoring only 81 all out in the 18th over. Chetan Mallya was outstanding with the ball, picking up 5 for 39 while leg-spinner Ansar Raza bagged 3 for 11.
Brief scores (A Division League):Arm Alpha 334 for 6 in 50 overs (Chaminda Lakmal 96 – 8x4, 4x6, Mudassar Iqbal 63 not out – 8x4, Nalinda Prasad 60 – 4x5, 5x6. Khalid Al Balushi 2-65, Rashad Al Balushi 2-86) trounced OCT Muscat 81 all out in 17.2 overs (Majid Hussein 36 – 5x4, 2x6, Samir Mohammed 22 – 3x4. Chetan Mallya 5-39, Ansar Raza 3-11) by 253 runs.
