Muscat: The 14-day extravaganza of top-quality cricket played between the top 5 premier division teams saw Qurum Thunders beat Ruwi Rangers by 31 runs to lift the coveted trophy at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

The Qurum Thunders, co-owned by Khimji Ramdas LLC, won the title, finishing second in the league stage below Ruwi Rangers, winning 4 out of 4.

The tournament was played in a single round-robin format followed by Qualifiers and an Eliminator for the Final.
Winning the toss and playing to their strengths, Qurun Thunders batted first. Kaleemullah swept through the Thunders top-order with overcast conditions as
they were five down in the powerplay.

Shoaib Khan’s resilient 60 of 95 balls and Samay Shrivastava’s gritty 51 of 111 balls not out helped Qurum Thunders reach 156 in 50 overs. Kaleemullah ended with 4 wickets, while Umair Shakeel and Mohammed Nadeem picked 2 each. In response, Khalid Kail’s 78 of 94 gave Ruwi Rangers a seamless start; however, they fell prey to Samay Shrivastava’s 4-wicket haul to bundle down for a mere 125. Ayaan Khan and Afreidh KT picked 2 wickets each to restrict the Ruwi Ranger’s chase.

Madhu Jesrani, Director of Muscat Cricket Team, reflecting on the team’s performance, said, “We did not start this season on an up, failing to qualify for
D20 and D10. The boys were not looking switched on initially; however, as the season progressed, we peaked at the right moments and started showing character at crucial stages of the matches, which helped us gain momentum as well as giving confidence to the boys. We availed the missing services of our Muscat CT backbone, Jatinder Singh, in the latter half of our season, which boosted the team morale and gave us the right combination in the games. I commend Samay Shrivastava’s outright performance this year in carrying Muscat CT along his shoulder when the team needed him. We congratulate every member involved with Muscat CT, backed by Khimji Ramdas, for winning the inaugural edition of The Oman D50, claiming the title of The Premier Division 2023-24”.

Samay Shrivastava was handed the Player of the Match award at the closing ceremony. At the same time, Mohammed Adeeb Usmani was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his 348 runs and 5 wickets in 5 matches handed by Maqbool Moosa Al Lawati, Board Member – Oman Cricket. Mohammed Nadeem, the skipper of the Ruwi Rangers, collected the Runners Up trophy, and Sandeep Goud, the skipper of Qurum Thunders, collected the Champions trophy from H.E Pankaj Khimji, Chairman – Oman Cricket.

Brief Scores: Muscat CT 156/9 in 50 overs (Shoaib Khan 60(95), Samay Shrivastava 51(111); Kaleemullah 4/12) beat Ruwi Rangers 125/10 in 30 overs (Khalid Kail 78(94); Samay Shrivastava 4/25)