MUSCAT: League champions Assarain continued their pursuit of season’s double with an exciting 14-run win over Enhance in a Premier Division T20 League game at the Ministry of Sports grassy ground 2 in Al Amerat on Saturday.
Playing on the picturesque ground under lights, Assarain set Enhance a target of 143 to win and then put it beyond Enhance’s reach with brilliant bowling and catching. Shahan Akram (39 off 38) and Muhammed Nadeem (29 off 22) were the main scorers for Assarain. Enhance pacer Ahmed Fayyaz Butt bagged 3 for 39 while spinner Nester Dhamba bowled brilliantly to claim 2 for 9 in 4 overs.
Nester Dhamba topscored with a superb 62 off 44 but could not take Enhance to victory as it folded up for just 128 in 19.1 overs. Khurram Khan was the only other notable scorer with 23 off 20.
Fast bowler Kaleemullah claimed 3 for 12 while Shakeel Ahmed and Muhammed Nadeem took two wickets each for Assarain, which now shares the top spot with Passage to India, each having 11 point from 6 games.
Brief scores: Assarain 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Shahan Akram 39 – 3x4, 1x6, Muhammed Nadeem 29 – 2x4, 1x6. Ahmed Fayyaz Butt 3-39, Nester Dhamba 2-09) beat Enhance 128 all out in 19.1 overs (Nester Dhamba 62 – 7x4, 3x6, Khurram Khan 23 – 2x4, 1x6. Kaleemullah 3-12, Shakeel Ahmed 2-23, Muhammed Nadeem 2-29) by 14 runs
Salman Stores set up final with Enhance
In the A Division T20 League semifinal, Salman Stores beat OCT Muscat by 3 wickets to set up an exciting final with MDC Enhance, who scored a 5-wicket win against IT Works in the second semifinal. Batting first, OCT Muscat failed to post a big total on the board, scoring 113 for 8 in 20 overs. Majid Hussain al Balushi was the only notable scorer with 35 off 36. Muzammil Ahmed and Asim Kamal claimed two wickets each.
Salman Stores surpassed the total in 18.2 overs, scoring 116 for 7. Imran Asghar (29 off 38) and Ghazanfar Iqbal (27 off 17) were the main contributors with the bat. Zubair Akbar al Balushi took 3 for 22.
Brief scores: OCT Muscat 113 for 8 in 20 overs (Majid Hussain al Balushi 35 – 5x4. Muzammil Ahmed 2-17, Asim Kamal 2-25) lost to Salman Stores 116 for 7 in 18.2 overs (Imran Asghar 29 – 3x4, Ghazanfar Iqbal 27 – 2x4, 2x6. Zubair Akbar al Balushi 3-22) by 3 wickets
Enhance Eagles down
IT Works in semis
Omkar Pramod Ozardek’s 3 for 26 was instrumental in MDC Enhance Eagles scoring a comfortable 5-wicket win over IT Works to reach the final.
Invited to bat first, IT Works posted 134 for 7 in 20 overs thanks to opener Umair Naeem’s 60 off 52 balls and Waseem Akhtar’s 14-ball 23. Apart from Omkar, Mohammed Faisal bowled well too, taking 2 for 28.
Eagles reached the target without much ado, scoring 135 for 5 in 18.5 overs. Ikhtiar Kazmi (32 off 19) and Eagles’ ‘Mr Consistent’ Pranav Mehta (31 not out off 29) were their heroes with the bat. Ihtesham Muhammed picked 3 wickets for 23.
Brief scores: IT Works 134 for 7 in 20 overs (Umair Naeem 60 – 7x4, Waseem Akhtar 23 – 2x4, 1x6. Omkar Pramod Ozardek 3-26, Mohammed Faisal 2-28) lost to MDC Enhance Eagles 135 for 5 in 18.5 overs (Ikhtiar Kazmi 32 – 3x4, 1x6, Pranav Mehta 31 not out – 2x4, 1x6. Ihtesham Muhammed 3-23) by 5 wickets
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