Oman finish 4th in ACC U16 West Zone Cup

Lot of positives to be taken from the regional tournament, says coach Syed Aamir Kaleem

MUSCAT: Oman boys concluded their campaign in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Men’s Under-16 West Zone Cup on a winning note to finish fourth in the six-nation event at the Vision Cricket Centre Grounds in Sharjah, UAE, recently.

Skipper Jeet Shah’s brilliant 75 was the highlight of Oman’s 106-run win over Saudi Arabia, only their second success in the tournament, which began on March 24.

Hosted by the Bahrain Cricket Association and played in Sharjah, the West Zone Cup top honours went to the UAE, who stayed perfect throughout to collect the maximum 10 points with five out of five victories. Bahrain finished second with six points but with better net run-rate (+1.349) as compared to Kuwait, who also collected six points (+1.161) with three victories.

Oman were fourth with four points (-0.547) edging Qatar on net run-rate (-2.903), who too had four points with two wins. Saudi Arabia failed to open their account.

On the final day, UAE defeated Bahrain by eight wickets to conclude their dominating victorious campaign. In the earlier matches, UAE had defeated Saudi Arabia by 10 wickets, outplayed Kuwait by 140 runs, routed Qatar by 254 runs, and drubbed Oman by 106 runs.

For Syed Aamir Kaleem-coached Oman squad, there were many positives to take from the tournament.

On his return from Sharjah, Aamir Kaleem said: “One of the many positives was the boys’ desire and determination to fight till the last ball. Overall, the performance in the tournament was not to our satisfaction. The conditions were tough to deal with for our players. Our batters struggled to hit the strides during crucial stages of the matches, which cost us dear.”

The coach added: “However, I am happy with the fact that the boys stayed positive throughout the tournament despite the defeats. Such match situations and losses will serve as lessons for these young boys.”

The former Oman international said, “The boys have lot of areas to improve upon. We will strive to keep the boys in good shape mentally and physically as they prepare for bigger tournaments ahead. We have returned with lot of experience and exposure. There are a lot of positives from the tournament and we will work upon them with this pool of talent. They have the potential to better themselves.”

Oman’s only other victory showcased the potential of the players to keep their nerves in tense match situation as they recorded a thrilling two-wicket victory over Bahrain with just three balls to spare.

Kriv Patel and Kavish Shah stood out in Oman’s thrilling triumph over Bahrain.

Against the Saudis, there were valuable contributions from Rishab Gupta (24), Giriharan Kuttiraja (28), and Rahil Habibulla (27) to compliment Jeet’s 75 as Oman scored 218/6 in the stipulated 35 overs.

The bowlers then did an exceptional job to bowl out the tournament minnows Saudis for 112 in 28.4 overs with superb spells from Kriv Patel (3/16) and Aryan Joshi (3/23). Prathiesh Ramesh picked up two wickets.

CLOSE WIN OVER BAHRAIN

Earlier, during the victory over Bahrain, Prathiesh picked two for 30 as Bahrain was restricted to 179/6.

Chasing the target, Oman lost two early wickets. But a fighting 42-run stand in 47 balls between Giriharan Kuttiraja and Kriv Patel (36) put the team’s chase on track. Kriv also shared a crucial 68-run partnership with Kavish Shah in 91 balls.

However, Oman lost three quick wickets with Kavish run out for 33. Varshieth Dinesh and Aneek Chakraborty then shared a 24-run partnership in 25 balls before Aneek departed with 15 still needed. An invaluable unbeaten 20 by Varshieth and Prathiesh took the team home with three balls to spare.

Oman’s campaign in Sharjah began with a forgettable outing as UAE drubbed them by 109 runs. UAE scored 230/9 with Oman’s Devansh Loya the pick of bowlers with 3/43 while Jeet and Prathiesh took two wickets each. Oman were bundled out for 121 in 31.5 overs with Kriv the top-scorer with 31.

Qatar routed Oman by 69 runs in a low-scoring affair. Qatar was restricted to 140/9 with Devansh, Prathiesh and Aryan picking two wickets each. However, Oman batting flopped as they were shot out for 71 in 17.5 overs with Jeet making the highest 23.

Oman suffered a 27-run defeat at the hands of Kuwait for their third loss. Kuwait put up 209/8 in 35 overs. Devansh took 3/29 while Prathiesh bagged 2/29. In reply, Oman was bowled out for 182 in 33.1 overs. Devansh top-scored with 41 while Varshieth made 39.

Overall, skipper Jeet emerged as the team’s highest run-getter with 135 runs while Kriv was second best with 101 runs. Prathiesh with ten wickets was the most successful bowler for Oman at the tournament with Devansh next best with eight wickets.