Yousuf stars for Bank Muscat

Star Omani player Yousuf Al Balushi stroked a masterful 97 to script a narrow 10-run victory against National Bank of Oman (NBO) in a D Division clash at the same venue later in the day.

Batting first in a battle of big banks, Bank Muscat piled up 202 for 5 in 20 overs thanks to Yousuf ’s superb batting in which he also slammed 5 huge sixes. Abbas Al Balushi was impressive too in his knock of 41 not out.

NBO gave the big total a valiant chase but fell short by 10 runs, scoring 192 for 7 in the stipulated 20 overs. Mustansar Hussain (68 off 38) and Maanas Kapoor (45 off 21) played superbly but could not really take their side to victory. Mohsin Nazir and Nishanth Bhavsar took two wickets each for Bank Muscat.

Brief scores: Bank Muscat 202 for 5 in 20 overs (Yousuf Al Balushi 97 – 10x4, 5x6, Abbas Al Balushi 41 not out – 2x4. Moazzam Shah 2-30, Zaheer Abbas 2-39) defeated NBO 192 for 7 in 20 overs (Mustansar Hussain 68 – 12x4, Maanas Kapoor 45 – 2x4, 3x6. Mohsin Nazir 2-31, Nishanth Bhavsar 2-34) by 10 runs. for 155 in 18 overs. Ratheesh Parambil (29 off 17) and Javed (28 off 18) were the main scorers. Faizaan Muhammed and Haneef Hodekar took two wickets each.

Ideal achieved the target on the penultimate ball of the final over, scoring 159 for 7. Batting at number 7, Faizaan contributed vital 48 not out to ensure a thrilling win for his side. Shameel Mohammed (32) and Akbar Shaikh (27) batted well too. Javed and Mansoor Veedu claimed two wickets each.

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