MUSCAT: Premier Division giant Assarain captured the Khimji Ramdas-sponsored T20 League crown by beating Passage to India in the tournament’s last game by 39 runs at Oman Cricket’s grassy ground 2 on Friday.
Assarain ended up securing 10 points from 8 matches and was tied up at the top with Al Turki NMC having the same points from as many games but was declared the winner due to better net run rate. Passage to India was third with eight points.
Assarain captain Naseem Khushi and manager Vinu Mathew received the trophy from Shankar Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, Khimji Ramdas, who was the chief guest, in the presence of Oman Cricket officials, guests, team officials and players.
Invited to bat first, Assarain posted 139 for 9 on the board with major contributions from Naseem Khushi (36 off 17), Gustav Burger (24 off 22) and Sami Ur Rahman (23 off 17).
PTI struggled to chase even a modest total, losing wickets at regular intervals before being shot down for 100 in the 19th over. Asif Khan (32 off 37) and Sultan Ahmed (24 off 29) were the only batsmen who offered some resistance to Assarain’s menacing attack despite the absence of its two stars Zeeshan Maqsood and Muhammed Nadeem, who were in Namibia on national duty. Gustav Burger caused the early damage by claiming two wickets for ten runs.
Brief scores (Premier Division T20 League Final): Assarain 139 for 9 in 20 overs (Naseem Khushi 36 – 5x4, 2x6, Gustav Burger 24 – 2x4, 1x6, Sami Ur Rahman 23 – 15x4, Shafqatullah 21 – 2x6) beat PTI 100 all out in 18.5 overs (Asif Khan 32 – 4x4, 1x6, Sultan Ahmed 24 – 3x4. Gustav Burger 2-10) by 39 runs.
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