MUSCAT: Captain Vaibhav Wategaonkar led from the front with a vital 77, his second successive half century, Ayaan Khan slammed an entertaining 64 and Rajesh Ranpura took 4 wickets, as Muscat CT registered another thrilling win, this time against defending champion Assarain, in a Premier Division game at Ministry of Sports ground 1 in Al Amerat on Friday.
After bowling Assarain out for 257 in 50 overs, Muscat suffered two early setback before a 73-run partnership between opener Swapnil Khadye (42) and Vaibhav (77) put their run chase back on track. Rookie Ayaan Khan led the rest of the chase with aplomb as Vaibhav had to retire hurt at 168 for 4 in 37.4 overs. With Jatinder Singh falling for just 20, Muscat relied on a 43-run 5th-wicket partnership between, Ayaan and Sandeep Goud to inch closer to victory, which was finally achieved in the 49th over with Ayaan unbeaten at 64 off 59 balls. Zeeshan Maqsood bagged two wickets for 57 runs in his quota of 10 overs.
Earlier, Assarain looked set for another imposing total thanks to a responsible knock of 77 by Shahan Akram and an explosive 50 off 22 balls by hard-hitting Naseem Khushi before Runpura’s death overs spell, in which he took three quick wickets including that of Khushi, took the life out of their charge. Runpura ended up taking four wickets for 55 runs as Assarain were bowled out for 257 in exact 50 overs. Gustav Burger (37), Ramkumar Pandarathil (36) and Zeeshan Maqsood (27) were the other notable scorers. Jatinder Singh bowled well too to take 2 for 21 while Munis Ansari bagged 2-50.
Brief scores: Assarain 257 all out in 50 overs (Shahan Akram 77 – 8x4, Naseem Khushi 50 – 2x4, 5x6, Gustav Burger 37 – 1x4, 3x6, Ramkumar Pandarathil 36 – 2x4, 1x6, Zeeshan Maqsood 27 – 3x4, 1x6. Rajesh Runpura 4-55, Jatinder Singh 2-21, Munis Ansari 2-50) lost to Muscat CT 261 for 5 in 48.2 overs (Vaibhav Wategaonkar 77 – 7x4, Ayaan Khan 64 – 4x4, 3x6, Swapnil Khadye 42 – 5x4, Sandeep Goud 28 – 2x4, 1x6. Zeeshan Maqsood 2-57) by five wickets.
Sarco sink White Lotus
All-rounders Rakesh Patel and Ajay Menon played a pivotal role in Sarco’s 37-run victory against White Lotus in a B Division match at Muscat Municipality ground 2 in Al Amerat.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Sarco scored 246 for 9 in 30 overs with Ajay Menon (54 off 27), Tosim Khan (52 off 42) and Rakesh Patel (43 off 31) being the leading scorers. Davinder Kumar bowled well to claim four wickets for 37 while Nazish Mohammed took two for 62.
Brief scores: Sarco 246 for 9 in 30 overs (Ajay Menon 54 – 7x4, 3x6, Tosim Khan 52 – 4x4, 3x6, Rakesh Patel 43 – 6x4, 1x6. Davinder Kumar 4-37, Nazish Mohammed 2-62) beat White Lotus 209 all out in 28.2 overs (Tushar Verma 46 – 4x4, Homeshwar Ratre 39 – 7x4, Shuaib Ismael 35 – 4x4. Rakesh Patel 3-42, Jeethesha Sridhara 2-29, Pradeep Kumar 2-32 and Zahid Hafiz 2-40) by 37 runs.
PSD too good for MCCC New
Platinum Services Diamond (PSD) thrashed MCCC New by seven wickets in another B Division game at Muscat Municipality ground 1.
PSD skittled MCCC New out for just 80 in 20.1 overs and then chased down the small total by reaching 81 for 3 in only 9 overs. Chadith Lakmal, Masud Pervez and Aftab Ahmed all claimed two wickets each.
Sarco’s Mahbub Alam topscored with an unbeaten 26.
Brief scores: MCCC New 80 all out in 20.1 overs (Saifullah 22 – 1x4. Chadith Lakmal 2-05, Masud Pervez 2-06, Aftab Ahmed 2-27) lost to Platinum Services Diamond 81 for 3 in 9 overs (Mahbub Alam 26 – 3x4) by seven wickets.
Ismael, Suhaib heroes of
OCT Al Hail A’s victory
A superb 102 by Ismael Ghulam, who was involved in a huge 162-run partnership with fellow opener Waleed Rahim, helped OCT Al Hail A register a big 88 run victory against OCT Amerat in a C Division game at Muscat Municipality ground 1.
OCT Al Hail A made full use of the opportunity to bat first and put a big total on the board. Ismael was particularly harsh on Oct Amerat bowlers, hitting 16 fours and 2 sixes in his 59-ball innings. Waleed played equally well for his 62 in his team’s total of 214 for 4 in 20 overs. Nathar Pashambeh al Balushi took two wickets for 38.
OCT Amerat never looked like chasing down the big total despite Samir Mohammed al Balushi’s fluent 54 off 38 balls including 2 powerful sixes and were restricted to just 126 for 8 in 20 overs. Suhaib al Balushi bowled extremely well to claim five wickets for 22 runs.
Brief scores: OCT Al Hail A 214 for 4 in 20 overs (Ismael Ghulam 102 – 16x4, 2x6, Waleed Rahim 62 – 8x4, 1x6. Nathar al Balushi 2-38) defeated OCT Amerat 126 for 8 in 20 overs (Samir al Balushi 54 – 7x4, 2x6, Nathar al Balushi 20 – 1x4. Suhaib al Balushi 5-22) by 88 runs.
Douglas OHI trounce MCCC A
Douglas OHI proved to be too strong for MCCC A, winning its E Division match by 9 wickets at Muscat Municipality ground 3.
Batting first after winning the toss, MCCC A were bowled out for 96 in 19.5 overs with only Ashik Sony playing well for his run a ball 25. OHI Captain Viplav Kumar Palai claimed two wickets for 15 runs.
Douglas OHI raced to the target in just 7.5 overs, scoring 100 for 1, thanks to an unbeaten 46 off 23 balls by Santosh Vishwakarma. Ramsheela Prasad remained not out on 20.
Brief scores: MCCC A 96 all out in 19.5 overs (Ashik Sony 25 – 2x4. Viplav Kumar Palai 2-15) lost to Douglas OHI 100 for 1 in 7.5 overs (Santosh Vishwakarma 46 – 9x4, Ramsheela Prasad 20 – 4x4) by 9 wickets.
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