MUSCAT : In Day 5 of the All-Omani tournament, OCT Muscat clinched a 59-run victory  over OCT Al Mabela on Turf 1 of the Oman Cricket Academy.  

Coming out to bat after winning the toss, OCT Muscat’s top-order stamped their authority  on the contest once more. Majid Hussein Doshambeh Al Balushi continued his rich vein  of form in the tournament by leading his side’s scoring chart for a third successive time.  He remained unbeaten on 64 runs. 

Keeping him company for the duration of a 99-run opening partnership was Muzaffar  Shiralkar, who made an explosive 45-ball 62. Rashad Al Balushi chipped in with a valuable  29-run cameo in the final six overs to help OCT Muscat to an excellent first innings score  of 167/1. 

In response, OCT Al Mabela were skittled for 108 with 8 balls to spare. None of their  batsmen were able to build partnerships of note and bring the asking rate under control.  Nabeel Mohd Boota and Saeed Al Balushi were the only ones to cross the 20-run mark. 

Rashad Al Balushi was far more instrumental to OCT Muscat’s success in the second phase  of play. His 2.4 overs produced 4 wickets at the expense of 14 runs. Munthir Al  Balushi and Shaed Ali Al Balushi claimed 2 apiece. 

Having lost all 3 of their matches, OCT Al Mabela closed out their campaign with a last placed finish in Group ‘A’. OCT Muscat on the other hand currently hold second spot, just  behind OCT Ruwi who yet have 1 game to play. 

In keeping with the theme of the day, Turf 2 also saw the side batting first make their way  to a 160+ total, with their opponents falling well short of that mark in the second innings. 

Put to bat first, OCT Al Hail ‘A’ posted 162/5 at the end of 20 overs. Waleed Rahim Al  Balushi took centre stage with a magnificent, unbeaten 68-run knock. By locking down  one end of the wicket, he enabled the other batters to play around him – a strategy that  reaped rich rewards for his side. 

Faris Said Al Zadjali, Suhaib Abdul Ghani Al Balushi and Abdul Jalil Al Balushi were the  beneficiaries and went on to register scores of 31, 24 and 13 respectively. Younis Ab was  the pick of OCT Seeb’s bowlers and finished with figures of 1/16 in 3 overs. 

In the second innings OCT Seeb started well, with openers Othman Al Zidjali and Younis  Ab erecting a 44-run stand in 5.4 overs. However, their departure in the space of 5  deliveries derailed the run-chase completely. OCT Seeb continued to lose wickets in pairs  and fell 45 runs short in the end. Samir Othman was their top-scorer with 27 runs. 

All of Suhaib Abdul Ghani Al Balushi, Abdul Ghani Al Balushi and Hisham Shafi Hisham  picked up 2 wickets each for OCT Al Hail ‘A’.

With the three sides in Group ‘B’ locked on 2 points from their 2 games, OCT Al Hail ‘A’  came out on the right side of the ensuing net run rate tussle to finish top. OCT Seeb  claimed second spot, leaving OCT Al Amerat rooted to the foot of the table. 

BRIEF SCORES: 

OCT Muscat 167/1 in 20 overs (Majid Hussein Doshambeh Al Balushi 64(59) 2 x 4, 1 x 6  ; Muzaffar Shiralkar 62(45) 7 x 4, 2 x 6 ; Muhammed Nadim 37/1) beat OCT Al Mabela  108/10 in 18.4 overs (Nabeel Mohd Boota 24(13) 1 x 4, 2 x 6 ; Rashad Al Balushi 14/4)  by 59 runs 

OCT Al Hail ‘A’ 162/5 in 20 overs (Waleed Rahim Al Balushi 68(56)3 x 4, 1 x 6 ; Faris Said  Al Zadjali 31(18) 6 x 4 ; Mohammed Othman 11/1) beat OCT Seeb 117/9 in 20 overs  (Samir Othman 27(23) 1 x 4, 1 x 6 ; Suhaib Abdul Ghani Al Balushi 20/2) by 45 runs