MUSCAT: OCT Ruwi maintained their spotless record in the all-Omani tournament with a 9-wicket victory over OCT Seeb in the semifinal at the Oman Cricket Academy on Monday.
After electing to bat first, OCT Seeb’s opening pair of Issa al Balushi and Othman al Zadjali looked in fine nick for the first 5 overs. The former led the scoring for his side with a run-a-ball 22. Their dismissals in the space of 6 balls came as a body blow, but the one that dropped OCT Seeb to the canvas was Ali Akbar Mohammed al Balushi’s three-wicket over.
Younis Ab, Mahmood Sufyan and Samir Othman were all sent packing, triggering a collapse that saw none of the following batters, bar Sami Mahmood, reach double figures.
From 62-2, OCT Seeb proceeded to be cleaned out for 97 with an over to spare.
Alongside Ali Akbar, Mohammed al Balushi and Nawed Abdulmajeed al Balushi picked up 3 wickets each for OCT Ruwi.
In response, OCT Ruwi chased the target down in 12.5 overs. Mohammed al Balushi continued his brilliant form in the tournament with an unbeaten 36. Fellow opener Wasim Ismail Mohamed al Balushi blitzed his way to a 11-ball 23, but his haste to wrap proceedings up quickly led to his demise in the fourth over.
Newcomer Zubair Ali Akbar al Balushi was much more composed and his 66-run partnership with Mohammed sealed a richly deserved win for OCT Ruwi. Zubair hit 34.
OCT Ruwi now await the second finalist and will contest them for the crown on April 21.
OCT Seeb on the other hand are one of the teams vying for third place, with their match also scheduled on the same day.
Simultaneously on Turf 2, OCT Al Mabela registered their first win in the Eliminator against OCT Al Amerat.
Batting first after winning the toss, OCT Al Mabela lost wickets at regular intervals, but Shareef al Balushi’s brilliant 41-run knock served to anchor their innings. Asaad al Balushi contributed an invaluable 26 runs to the cause and Zafarullah al Balushi and Asif al Balushi chipped in with scores 15 and 13 respectively to take OCT Al Mabela to a creditable 126-9 in 20 overs.
Rafeeq Mohammed Siyad al Balushi ended the day with figures of 3-25 for OCT Al Amerat.
In the second phase of play, OCT Al Amerat’s run-chase never really got going at all as none of their batsmen were able to make a sizable impact on the game. Anaya Allah top-scored with 17 runs. Ateel Yousuf was the only other to reach double figures and his side fell 52 runs short in the end, folding for 74 in 17.3 overs.
Nabeel Mohd Boota was the pick of OCT Al Mabela’s bowling unit. His spell produced 3 wickets and 14 runs. Both Shareef al Balushi and Saeed al Balushi claimed 2 apiece. Their side now face OCT Al Hail ‘B’ in a fight for fifth place on April 12.
BRIEF SCORES
OCT Seeb 97 all out in 19 overs (Issa al Balushi 22 (22b, 2x4); Mohammed al Balushi 3-8, Nawed Abdulmajeed al Balushi 3-15, Ali Akbar Mohammed al Balushi 3-18) lost to OCT Ruwi 102-1 in 12.5 overs (Mohammed al Balushi 36 (30b, 2x4, 2x6), Zubair Ali Akbar al Balushi 34 (36b, 2x4, 2x6); Younis Ab 1-9) by 9 wickets.
OCT Al Mabela 126-9 in 20 overs (Shareef al Balushi 41 (39b, 3x4); Rafeeq Mohammed Siyad al Balushi 3-25) beat OCT Al Amerat 74 all out in 17.3 overs (Anaya Allah 17 (15b, 1x4, 1x6); Nabeel Mohd Boota 3-14) by 52 runs.
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