MUSCAT: Asghar Khan led an amazing chase with an unbeaten 77 off 57, steering Bank Muscat to an impressive 7-wicket victory against OCT Ruwi in a 30-over B Division clash at Muscat Municipality ground 2 in Al Amerat on Friday.
Openers Wasim Ismail al Balushi (62 off 35) and Mohammed Ali Akbar (46 off 51) got OCT Seeb to a flying start, putting together a 99-run partnership in just 9 overs.
However, Wasim’s departure started the slide that saw the whole side being dismissed for 200 in the last over.
Mohsin Nazir and Ajay Hirlekar were Bank Muscat’s most successful bowlers, taking three wickets each.
Bank Muscat’s response was equally good after a 58-run opening partnership between Rehan Khan (43) and Manan Tufail (39). Man of the match Asghar Khan continued the offensive, putting on 60 runs for the third wicket with Rehan and an unbroken 86-run partnership with Rameshbabu Paulsamy who remained not out at 32 as Bank Muscat completed the victory in 26 overs, scoring 204 for 3. Mohammed Ali Akbar claimed 2 for 33.
Brief Scores (B Division): Oct Ruwi 200 all out in 29.5 overs (Wasim Ismail 62 – 11x4, 1x6, Mohammad Ali Akbar 46 – 4x4, 2x6, Mohsin Nazir 3-10, Ajay Hirlekar 3-40, Ashish Gupta 2-37, Muhammed Jamil 2-35) lost to Bank Muscat 204 for 3 in 26 overs (Asghar Khan 77 – 11x4, Rehan Khan 43 – 4x4, Manan Tufail 39 – 4x4, 2x6. Mohammad Ali Akbar 2-33) by 7 wickets.
Arif’s ton lifts
Orients Travels
In another B Division encounter, former Assarain star Arif Hussain slammed a scintillating 148 off 96, helping Orient Travels/Gitacs thrash Zubair CT by 107 runs at Muscat Municipality ground 1 on Friday.
Arif’s big knock, containing 21 fours and a six, was instrumental in Orient posting a big 233 for 9 in 30 overs.
Mohan Parthiban was the pick of Zubair bowlers, taking 4 for 34 while Mir Abdul Aziz bagged 3 for 39.
No one except opener Muhammed Amjad (41 off 31) was able to make a notable contribution and Zubair was bundled out for a lowly 126 in the 23rd over. Abid Ali led the way with a superb spell, taking 4 for 35 to plot Zubair’s fall.
Brief scores (B Division): Orient Travels/Gitacs 233 for 9 in 30 overs (Arif Hussain 148 – 21x4, 1x6, Mohan Parthiban 4-34, Mir Abdul Aziz 3-39) beat Zubair 126 all out in 22.4 overs (Muhammed Amjad 41 – 6x4, Abid Ali 4-35, Rafique al Balushi 2-8, Ihsan Ullapool Khan 2-11) by 107 runs.
Bhandari leads Ideal
to easy win
A solid 57 off 34 by Deepak Bhandari led Ideal International to a thumping 86-run win over Al Waad Trading in a C Division T20 League game at Muscat Municipality ground 2.
Faizan Dawnik was the other main contributor with 33 off 18 as Ideal scored 205 for 6 in 20 overs. Shine NV claimed 3 for 46.
Al Waad Trading failed to mount a decent fight, collect only 119 for 7 in its quota of overs. Muniyasamy top-scored with 34 while Nikhil Versani and Salman Khan took two wickets each.
Brief Scores (C Division): Ideal International 205 for 6 in 20 overs (Deepak Bhandari 57 – 7x4, Faizan Dawnik 33 – 3x4, 1x6, Shine Nv 3-46) beat Al Waad Trading & Contracting Enterprises 119 for 7 in 20 overs (Muniyasamy Muthumurugan 34 – 6x4, Nikhil Varsani 2-8, Salman Khan 2-21) by 86 runs.
Miraj powers Khalsa
In another C Division match, Miraj Hossain’s unbeaten 62 off 42 helped Khala United trounce OCT Al Amerat by 54 runs at Muscat Municipality ground 1 on Friday.
Miraj’s fluent half century was the highlight of Khalsa’s 175 for 6 which was kept in check by brilliant bowling by Moosa Mohammed who claimed 4 for 23.
Al Amerat side failed to rise to the occasion, falling meekly for a disappointing 121 in 20 overs.
Nasser Haider was the only batsman to offer resistance with a solid 45 off 38. Kadam Sushil, Majid Rafique and Abdul Lathif all took two wickets each.
Brief Scores (C Division): Khalsa United CT 175 for 6 in 20 overs (Miraj Hossain 62 – 9x4, Moosa Mohammed 4-23) beat Oct Al Amerat 121 all out in 20 overs (Nasser Haider 45 – 6x4, Kadam Sushil 2-15, Majid Rafique 2-16, Abdul Lathif 2-24) by 54 runs.
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