MARH register resounding six-wicket win
MUSCAT — In the first match of the morning at the PDO grounds Moosa Abdul Rahman Hassan (MARH) registered a resounding sixwicket win against Al Habib in an Oman Cricket conducted ‘E’ Division T20 match played during the weekend.
Electing to bat after winning the toss Al Habib were well placed at 94 for the loss of 2 wickets off 11 overs but lost their way and were restricted to 131 for the loss of 7 wickets off the 20 allotted overs. The only batsmen to enter double figures were opening batsman Shoiab Parker 56 (42b, 5x4) and Mohammed Faheem 31 (26b, 2x4).
Sukhpreet Singh and Omani player Khalid Moosa claimed 2 wickets each conceding 16 and 21 runs respectively off 4 overs each.
MARH in reply started off well with the openers Khalid Moosa 42 (17b, 2x6 and 5x4) and his partner Abrar 22 (20b, 3x4) posting 50 runs off 4 overs. Jijo Abraham batting at No.6 chipped in with a valuable unbeaten 42 (26b, 7x4) to guide the team to 135 for the loss 4 wickets off 15.2 overs.
L&T DOWN CARILLION
ALAWI BY 55 RUNS
In the 2nd match of the morning L&T defeated Carillion Alawi by 55 runs in an Arabian Industries sponsored ‘E’ Division T20 match played at the same venue.
Winning the toss and batting first L&T were precariously placed at 86 for the loss of 7 wickets at the end of the 11th over with opening batsman Tony Felix Felix contributing 22 runs (20b, 4x4). Thanks to a 67 run 8th wicket partnership between Gunasekaran Periannan 38 (37b, 5x4) and Pandiselvam 32 (23b, 4x4) they reached 168 for the loss of 9 wickets at the end of 20 overs.
Omani cricketer Issam Oth- man was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 20 supported by Mohammed Ali 2 for 29 off 4 overs each.
Carillion Alawi in their turn lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 113 off 17.5 overs with Indrajit Baitha 25 (14b, 4x4) and open- ing batsman Gurmit Ram 22.
The bowlers to cause the damage were Tony Felix Felix 3 for 16 and Rajeev Zacharia 2 for 21. venue in another ‘E’ T20 match PDORC trounced Mottmac by 10 wickets. Deciding to bat after winning the toss Mottmac were bowled out for 112 runs off 19.2 overs with a top score of 22 (27b, 1x4) from Shubrakamal Talapatra.
The bowing honours were shared by Hafiz Mohammed Naeem and Asadullah Baig who claimed 3 wickets each conceding 12 and 15 runs respectively. PDORC set a target of 114 for victory reached it easily off 13.1 overs with the openers skipper Salman Rashid making a blistering unbeaten 67 (38b, 1x6 and 9x4) whilst his partner Mazar Javed scored 39 Not Out (41b, 2x6 and 1x4). PDORC completed their matches remaining unbeaten throughout to cinch the ‘E’ Division title. SYDNEY — Finland's Jarkko Nieminen beat Julien Benneteau 6-2, 7-5 in the raindelayed Sydney International final yesterday, sealing a remarkable tournament win after he came through qualifying.
Nieminen, ranked 77th, came into the pre-australian Open contest with a 4-0 headto-head record against Benneteau and took a firm grip on the match, forcing three breaks of serve in the first set.
The second set at Olympic Park went with serve, with the 49th-ranked Frenchman saving a match point in the 10th game with a forehand winner