MUSCAT: Vital knocks by Shaheer Najeeb (64) and captain Suraj Rao (43 not out) steered Al Mada Engineering to a three-wicket win over White Lotus International in an Al Ansari Group-sponsored B Division game at Muscat Municipality ground 1 in Al Amerat on Friday.
Batting first, White Lotus put a sizeable total on the board, scoring 212 before being all out in exact 30 overs. Muhammed Nadeem Ashaq (73 off 74) and Shoaib Ismail al Balushi (60 off 48) were the only notable scorers. Guru Prasad, Deepak Bhadari and Nishanth Menon took two wickets each.
Struggling at 64 for 4, Al Mada was facing a mountain to climb before Shaheer and Shahil Mohammed scored 80 runs for the fifth wicket, taking the score to 147. Shaheer and Shahil fell in quick succession and Al Mada was once again in trouble at 147 for 7. However, an unbroken 66-run partnership between captain Suraj and Deepak Bhandari saw their team home with 19 balls to spare.
Brief scores: White Lotus International 212 all out in 30 overs (Muhammed Nadeem Ashaq 73 – 10x4, Shoaib Ismail Al Balushi 60 – 7x4, Sadhiq Mohammed 22 – 2x4. Guru Prasad 2-29, Deepak Bhandari 2-36, Nishanth Menon 2-58) lost to Al Mada Engineering 213 for 7 in 26.5 overs (Shaheer Najeeb 64 – 5x4, 4x6, Suraj Rao 43 not out – 4x4, 1x6, Deepak Bhandari 21 not out – 2x4) by three wickets.
Oasis Water sink MCCC ‘A’
Oasis Water eased past MCCC ‘A’, winning the low-scoring E Division game by seven wickets at Muscat Municipality ground 2.
MCCC ‘A’ won the toss and batted first but could manage only 124 for 5 in 20 overs.
Piyush Aniruddha (48 off 57) and Jayesh Anil (40 off 48) were involved in a 100-run opening partnership in 15.5 overs. However, the rest of the batsmen failed to capitalise on the good start as Oasis Water continued to bowl tight.
Oasis Water raced to the target, scoring 127 for 3 in the 13th over. Anoop Kizhakke (31 off 19) and Vineet Kumar (25 off 17) were the main scorers.
Brief scores: MCCC ‘A’ 124 for 5 in 20 overs (Piyush Aniruddha 48 – 2x4, Jayesh Anil 40 – 3x4) lost to Oasis water 127 for 3 in 12.5 overs (Anoo Kizhakke – 31 – 5x4, Vineet Kumar 25 – 3x4) by seven wickets.
Imran stars in big win
for Ahli Bank
An entertaining 65 not out by Imran Syed helped Ahli Bank trounce Majees CT by seven wickets in an F Division match at Muscat Municipality ground 3.
Chasing a target of 136 to win, Ahli Bank rode on a superb opening stand of 72 runs between Imran and young Issa al Balushi, who scored a strokeful 39 of 23, to win the game by seven wickets in the 14th over.
Brief scores: Majees CT 135 for 5 in 20 overs (Aneeq Jassom 41 – 3x4, Haris Aboobacker 35 – 3x4) lost to Ahli Bank 136 for 3 in 13.2 overs (Imran Syed 65 not out – 10x4, 1x6, Issa Al Balushi 39 – 7x4, 1x6) by seven wickets.
Sohail, Irtaza power Unique Elegant
A magnificent 66 not out by Sohail Khan and four-wicket spell by Irtaza Khan were the highlights of Unique Elegant’s seven-wicket victory again OCT Al Hail B in a G Division game at Muscat Municipality ground 4.
Asked to bat first, OCT Al Hail was bowled out for 116 in the 19th over, Nusrat Allah topscoring with 21 off 17. Irtaza and Haja Hussain bagged four and three wickets respectively. It took Unique Elegant just 13.4 overs to overhaul the target, scoring 117 for 3.
Brief scores: OCT Al Hail B 116 all out in 18.5 overs (Nusrat Allah 21 – 3x4. Irtaza Hussain 4-12, Haja Hussain 3-29) lost to Unique Elegant 117 for 3 in 13.4 overs (Sohail Khan 66 not out – 11x4) by seven wickets.
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