Al Mada down EY in thriller
Wasim Abdul Karim smashed a 49-ball 93 as Al Mada Engineering scored 169 in 23 overs and then claimed two wickets to help his team bowl out EY for 164 runs
MUSCAT: All-rounder Wasim Abdul Karim steered Al Mada Engineering to a thrilling four-run win against Ernst & Young (EY) in a 30-over B Division match of Oman Cricket League at Municipality Ground II on Friday.
Playing a sterling knock of 93 off just 49 balls, Wasim was solely responsible for Al Mada reaching a fighting total of 169 before all out in 23 overs. His knock included 13 fours and three sixes. Opener Ashok Patel batted well too for his 34. Vishak Jayakumar bowled brilliantly to claim three wickets for just 16 runs in his quota of four overs. Salman Khan took three wickets for 24.
Ernst &Young’s dismal start to the season continued with another loss, though this time they fought well before falling short by just four runs. Omar Sarfaraz was once again the leading scorer with a fluent 72 of 65 balls including seven fours and two sixes.
After his fall, Al Mada wrapped up the game quickly, bowling EY out for 165 in 29.3 overs. Wasim Abdul Karim, Deepak Bhandari, Mohammed Shahil and NishantMenon all bagged two wickets apiece.
Brief scores: Al Mada Engineering 169 all out in 23 overs (Wasim Abdul Karim 93, Ashok Patel 34; Vishak Jayakumar 3/16, Salman Khan 3/24) bt
164 all out in 29.3 overs (Omar Sarfaraz 72; Nishat Menon 2/8, Deepak Bhandari 2/13, Mohammed Shahil 2/23, Wasim Abdul Karim 2/31). Waves Engineering made short work of a respectable Zubair CT total of 162 thanks to a 105-run opening partnership between openers Usman Asghar (60) and Kamaljot Singh (42) in a T20 D Division match at Municipality Ground I on Friday.
Batting first, Zubair CT compiled a fighting 162 for seven in 20 overs with opener Adnan Mehboob scor- ing a superb 82 off 60 balls with the help of eight fours and a six. It took Waves Engineering only 14.2 overs to overhaul the target, losing only four wickets in the process.
Brief scores: Zubair CT 162 for 7 in 20 overs (Adnan Mehboob 82, Mohsin Abbas 38, Sunil Kumar 26; Mu- hammed Muslim 3/31, Usman Asghar 2/24) lost to 165 for 4 in 14.2 overs (Usman Asghar 60, Kamaljot Singh 42, Muhammed Umar 29; Iqbal Mudassar 3/46).
NBO edge Bank Muscat
A match-winning 115-run fifthwicket partnership between Arfan Ali Syed and Mustansar Hussain paved the way for NBO’s win over Bank Muscat in a 20-over E Division game at Municipality Ground III.
Brief scores: Bank Muscat 149 all out in 20 overs (ZeeshanTufail 29, Osman Al Zadjali 28; Moazzam Shah 3/19, Mustansar Hussain 2/30, Manas Kapoor 2/19) lost to 152 for 6 in 19.5 overs (Arfan Ali Syed 65, Mustansar Hussain 49; Nishanth 3/28).
Issa inspires Ahli Bank
In another battle of banks, Ahli Bank defeated NBO Al Muzn in a high-scoring F Division clash, thanks to a swashbuckling 25-ball 75 by young Omani opener Issa Al Balushi at Municipality Ground IV.
Brief scores: NBO Al Muzn 209 for 5 in 20 overs (Ismail Rahim Al Balushi 72, Rohit Gupta 59, Saif Khan 26; Syed Imran 2/30) lost to 210 for 7 in 19.1 overs (Issa Al Balushi 75, Syed Imran 60; Imran Kasmani 3/28).