Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: Assarain’s winning run continued to stretch, adding another Muscat CT scalp to its collection in a 4-wicket win over the Premier Division veterans in a T20 clash at Oman Cricket’s grassy ground 1 in Amerat.
In another T20 game, Passage to India (PTI) prevailed over Al Turki in a 20-run victory that kept it close on the heels of Assarain in team standings.
Muscat paid the price of making a cautious start in a T20 game, scoring only 36 runs in the first six overs of powerplay. Although it lost its first wicket at 99 in the 14th over when opener Jatinder Singh was trapped in front by Sindo Michael for 44 off 41, the remaining batsmen had too much work to do in the remaining six overs to post a challenging total on the board. Opener Aniruddha Chore once again topscored with 55 off 46. Oman all-rounder Muhammed Nadeem made life difficult for the Muscat openers, conceding only 19 runs in his four-over spell while also taking Chore’s wicket when he looked set to accelerate.
Assarain started its run chase with the right approach, collecting 54 runs for two wickets in the powerplay overs and making its task easier for the rest of the game which it won with five balls to spare, scoring 152 for 6. Sanuth Ebrahim and Muhammed Nadeem led the way with 39 off 32 and 31 off 18 respectively. Baadal Singh bagged 2 for 30.
Brief scores (Premier Division): Muscat CT 150 for 4 in 20 overs (Aniruddha Chore 55 – 5x4, 1x6, Jatinder Singh 44 – 4x4, Muhammed Nadeem 1-19, Sindo Michael 1-24) lost to Assarain 152 for 6 in 19.1 overs (SanuthEbrahim 39 – 3x4, 2x6, Muhammed Nadeem 31 – 4x4, Baadal Singh 2-30) by 4 wickets.
Zohaib, Amir help PTI to victory
Zohaib Amanat and Amir Kaleem were PTI stars in its latest T20 win this season. Zohaib struck 45 off 29 as PTI ended its 20 overs at 156 for 6 including a fluent 28 off 18 by opener Kashyumkumar Prajapati. Jigneshbhai Patel and Ajay Lalcheta claimed two wickets each.
Al Turki showed no signs of making a successful chase, being reduced to 57 for 7 in 12 overs. However, a 46-run 8th wicket partnership between Jigneshbhai (26 off 14) and Jitten Kumar (45 not out off 30) gave Al Turki some hope of coming close to the target which could not happen due to some tight PTI bowling and fielding. Al Turki had to be content with 136 for 9 in its 20 overs. Amir kaleem led the bowling honours with 3 for 21 while Muhammed Bilal picked up 2 for 23.
Brief scores (Premier Division): Passage to India 156 for 6 in 20 overs (Zohaib Amanat 45 – 5x4, 2x6, Kashyapkumar Prajapati 28 – 5x4, Jigneshbhai Patel 2-9, Ajay Lalcheta 2-24) beat Al Turki NMC 136 for 9 in 20 overs (Jitten Kumar 45 – 3x4, 3x6, Sankata Prasad 32 – 3x4, 1x6, Aamir Kaleem 3-21, Muhammad Bilal 2-23) by 20 runs
Zawawi, Ooredoo score victories
In the two A Division games over the weekend, Zawawi Powetech Engineering thrashed OCT Muscat by a whopping 297 runs while Ooredoo defeated ARTT by 9 runs in a thriller.
Zawawi piled up 348 in 50 overs thanks to major contributions from Arun Dev (85), Ramkumar Chinna (59) and SuhilKanagaraj (49). Mohammed Aslam and Arif Al Balushi bagged four and three wickets respectively.
OCT Muscat failed to fight and folded up for only 77 in the 29th over due to brilliant bowling by Yagnik Ashwin (3 for 10) and Nishad Saidhalavi (3 for 18).
On OC grassy ground 2, Ooredoo overcame a spirited challenge from Arabian Region Travel and Tourism (ARTT) to register its first win the season.
Arun Pushpan’s superb 129 was the highlight of Ooredoo’s 268 for 8 in 50 overs that also saw Muhammed Waqas scoring a breezy 42 with 3 sixes.
Waqas came back to claim 3 wickets along with another 3 by Irfan Khalid to keep ARTT short of the target by nine runs as it was dismissed for 259 in the final over. Pranav Mehta topscored with 43 while young Adeel Abbas contributed 40.
Brief scores (A Division): Zawawi Powertech Engineering 348 all out in 50 overs (Arun Dev 85 – 8x4, Ramkumar Chinna59 – 7x4, 2x6,SuhilKanagaraj 49 – 1x4, 6x6, Mohamed Aslam 4-74, Arif Al Balushi 3-47) beat OCT Muscat 77 all out in 28.3 overs (Rashad Al Balushi 21 – 2x4, 1x6, Yagnik Ashwin 4-10, Nishad Saidhalavi 3-18) by 271 runs.
Brief scores (A Division): Ooredoo 268 for 8 in 50 overs (Arun Pushpan 129 – 19x4, Muhammad Waqas 42 – 4x4, 3x6, Sachin Kumar 4-72, Mohammed Ahmed 2-27, Parameswaran Shankar 2-39) beat Arabian Region Travel & Tourism 259 all out in 49.5 overs (Pranav Mehta 43 – 5x1, 1x6, Adeel Abbas 40 – 4x4, Muhammad Waqas 3-48, Irfan Khalid 3-49) by 9 runs
