MUSCAT: On Day 5 of the All-Omani tournament, OCT Muscat clinched a 59-run victory over OCT Al Mabela on Turf 1 of the Oman Cricket Academy.
Coming out to bat after winning the toss, OCT Muscat’s top-order stamped their authority on the contest once more. Majid Hussein Doshambeh al Balushi continued his rich vein of form in the tournament by leading his side’s scoring chart for a third successive time. He remained unbeaten on 64 runs.
Keeping him company for the duration of a 99-run opening partnership was Muzaffar Shiralkar, who made an explosive 45-ball 62. Rashad al Balushi chipped in with a valuable 29-run cameo in the final six overs to help OCT Muscat to an excellent score of 167-1.
In response, OCT Al Mabela were skittled for 108 with 8 balls to spare. None of their batsmen were able to build partnerships of note and bring the asking rate under control.
Nabeel Mohd Boota and Saeed al Balushi were the only ones to cross the 20-run mark.
Rashad al Balushi was far more instrumental to OCT Muscat’s success in the second phase of play. His 2.4 overs produced 4 wickets at the expense of 14 runs. Munthir al Balushi and Shaed Ali al Balushi claimed 2 apiece.
Having lost all 3 of their matches, OCT Al Mabela closed out their campaign with a last-placed finish in Group ‘A’. OCT Muscat on the other hand currently hold second spot, just behind OCT Ruwi who yet have 1 game to play.
In keeping with the theme of the day, Turf 2 also saw the side batting first make their way to a 160 plus total, with their opponents falling well short of that mark in the second innings.
Put to bat first, OCT Al Hail ‘A’ posted 162-5 at the end of 20 overs. Waleed Rahim al Balushi took centre stage with a magnificent, unbeaten 68-run knock. By locking down one end of the wicket, he enabled the other batters to play around him - a strategy that reaped rich rewards for his side.
Faris Said al Zadjali, Suhaib Abdul Ghani al Balushi and Abdul Jalil al Balushi were the beneficiaries and went on to register scores of 31, 24 and 13 respectively. Younis Ab was the pick of OCT Seeb’s bowlers and finished with figures of 1-16 in 3 overs.
In the second innings OCT Seeb started well, with openers Othman al Zidjali and Younis Ab erecting a 44-run stand in 5.4 overs. However, their departure in the space of 5 deliveries derailed the run-chase completely. OCT Seeb continued to lose wickets in pairs and fell 45 runs short in the end. Samir Othman was their top-scorer with 27 runs.
All of Suhaib Abdul Ghani al Balushi, Abdul Ghani al Balushi and Hisham Shafi Hisham picked up 2 wickets each for OCT Al Hail ‘A’.
With the three sides in Group ‘B’ locked on 2 points from their 2 games, OCT Al Hail ‘A’ came out on the right side of the ensuing net run rate tussle to finish top. OCT Seeb claimed second spot, leaving OCT Al Amerat rooted to the foot of the table.
BRIEF SCORES:
OCT Muscat 167-1 in 20 overs (Majid Hussein Doshambeh al Balushi 64 (59b, 2x4, 1x6), Muzaffar Shiralkar 62 (45b, 7x4, 2x6); Muhammed Nadim 1-37) beat OCT Al Mabela 108 all out in 18.4 overs (Nabeel Mohd Boota 24 (13b, 1x4, 2x6); Rashad al Balushi 4-14) by 59 runs
OCT Al Hail ‘A’ 162-5 in 20 overs (Waleed Rahim al Balushi 68 (56b, 3x4, 1x6), Faris Said al Zadjali 31 (18b, 6x4); Mohammed Othman 1-11) beat OCT Seeb 117-9 in 20 overs (Samir Othman 27 (23b, 1x4, 1x6); Suhaib Abdul Ghani al Balushi 2-20) by 45 runs.
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