Assarain down Enhance to join PTI on top of the table
MUSCAT: League champions Assarain continued their pursuit of season’s double with an exciting 14-run win over Enhance in a Premier Division T20 game at the Ministry of Sports Affairs Ground II in Al Amerat on Saturday.
Playing on the picturesque ground under lights, Assarain set Enhance a target of 143 to win and then put it beyond Enhance’s reach with brilliant bowling and catching.
Shahan Akram (39 off 38) and Muhammed Nadeem (29 off 22) were the main scorers for Assarain. Enhance pacer Ahmed Fayyaz Butt bagged three for 39 while spinner Nester Dhamba bowled brilliantly to claim two for nine in four overs.
Nester Dhamba topscored with a superb 62 off 44 but could not take Enhance to victory as they folded up for just 128 in 19.1 overs. Khurram Khan was the only other notable scorer with 23 off 20.
Fast bowler Kaleemullah claimed three for 12 while Shakeel Ahmed and Muhammed Nadeem took two wickets each for Assarain, which now shares the top spot with Passage to India, each having 11 points from six games.
Brief scores: Assarain 142 for 8 in 20 overs (Shahan Akram 39, Muhammed Nadeem 29; Ahmed Fayyaz Butt 3/39, Nester Dhamba 2/9) bt Enhance 128 all out in 19.1 overs (Nester Dhamba 62, Khurram Khan 23; Kaleemullah 3/12, Shakeel Ahmed 2/23, Muhammed Nadeem 2/29).
Salman Stores in final
In an A Division T20 semifinal, Salman Stores beat OCT Muscat by three wickets to set up an exciting final with MDC Enhance, who scored a five-wicket win against IT Works in their semifinal.
Batting first, OCT Muscat scored 113 for eight in 20 overs. Majid Hussain Al Balushi was the only notable scorer with 35 off 36. Muzammil Ahmed and Asim Kamal claimed two wickets each.
Salman Stores surpassed the total in 18.2 overs, scoring 116 for seven. Imran Asghar (29 off 38) and Ghazanfar Iqbal (27 off 17) were the main contributors with the bat. Zubair Akbar Al Balushi took three for 22.
Brief scores: OCT Muscat 113 for 8 in 20 overs (Majid Hussain Al Balushi 35; Muzammil Ahmed 2/17, Asim Kamal 2/25) lost to Salman Stores 116 for 7 in 18.2 overs (Imran Asghar 29, Ghazanfar Iqbal 27; Zubair Akbar Al Balushi 3/22).
Eagles in title match
Omkar Pramod Ozardek’s three for 26 was instrumental in MDC Enhance Eagles scoring a comfortable five-wicket win over IT Works in their semifinal. Invited to bat first, IT Works posted 134 for seven in 20 overs thanks to opener Umair Naeem’s 60 off 52 balls and Waseem Akhtar’s 14ball 23. Apart from Omkar, Mohammed Faisal bowled well too, taking two for 28.
In reply, Eagles scored 135 for five in 18.5 overs. Ikhtiar Kazmi (32 off 19) and Eagles’ ‘Mr Consistent’ Pranav Mehta (31 not out off 29) were their heroes with the bat. Ihtesham Muhammed picked three wickets for 23.
Brief scores: IT Works 134 for 7 in 20 overs (Umair Naeem 60, Waseem Akhtar 23; Omkar Pramod Ozardek 3/26, Mohammed Faisal 2/28) lost to MDC Enhance Eagles 135 for 5 in 18.5 overs (Ikhtiar Kazmi 32, Pranav Mehta 31 n.o.; Ihtesham Muhammed 3/23).