OCT Ruwi, OCT Al Hail ‘B’ clinch opening day wins

MUSCAT: Day 1 of the All-Omani tournament held at the Oman Cricket Academy on April 4 saw OCT Ruwi and OCT Al Hail ‘B’ emerge victorious. They beat OCT Muscat and OCT Al Mabela by 6 and 7 wickets respectively.

On Turf 1, OCT Muscat elected to bat first after winning the toss. Majid al Balushi was their most impressive batsman by a distance. After losing his opening partner in the very first over, Majid controlled the innings by building a 44-run partnership with Rashad al Balushi.

But once he was dismissed in the 10th over, OCT Muscat crumbled. From 65-3, they were reduced to 82-10 in 18.3 overs. Munthir al Balushi was the only batter apart from Majid and Rashad to reach double figures.

OCT Ruwi were excellent with the ball and on the field during this period. Their star in the first innings was undoubtedly Zubair Ali Akabr al Balushi. He single-handedly shredded the entire OCT Muscat batting unit, picking up 5 wickets for just 6 runs in his 3.3 overs.

The first five overs of the second innings saw the game turn into a contest once more, as OCT Ruwi found themselves teetering on the edge of collapse at 10-3. However, a superb 70-run stand between Abdul Aziz al Balushi and Nawed al Balushi ensured that all further damage was done by them.

The former top-scored for his side with a 44-ball 42. The latter remained unbeaten on 25 and took OCT Ruwi over the finish line with 21 balls to spare. Arif al Balushi was OCT Muscat’s top performer with the ball and was the only one with more than 1 wicket to his name.

On the other ground, OCT Al Mabela were put to bat first after losing the toss. Salim al Balushi and Zafarullah al Balushi looked assured in the middle and stitched together a 51-run opening partnership to begin proceedings. They collected 39 and 24 runs individually.

While the latter was sent back in the 9th over, the former stayed put for much longer and set his side up for a grandstand finish, with the scoreboard reading 95-2 after 14.4 overs.

But after his dismissal in the very next ball, the rest of OCT Al Mabela’s batting cast were unable to score as freely. At a run-a-ball rate, they finished on 127-7 after 20 overs.

Shareef al Balushi and Nabeel Mohd Boota were the others with notable contributions.

For OCT Al Hail ‘B’, Qais Khalid, Asim Abdul Qadeer and Khalid al Balushi picked up 2 wickets apiece.

In response, after a tricky start, OCT Al Hail ‘B’ took total control of the tie, thanks to a majestic 93-run stand between Hassan Mohamed Hussain and Ahmed Mohammed.

Hassan was dismissed for 50, but Ahmed carried on until the end and clinched a well-deserved victory for OCT Al Hail ‘B’ with 2.5 overs in the bank. He ended the day on 56 runs from 54 deliveries.

Nabeel Mohd Boota was the pick of OCT Al Mabela’s bowling unit. His 4 overs brought 21 runs and 2 wickets for his side.

BRIEF SCORES:

OCT Muscat 82 all out in 18.3 overs (Majid al Balushi 35 (27b, 4×4, 1×6); Zubair al Balushi 5-6) lost to OCT Ruwi 85-4 in 16.3 overs (Abdul Aziz al Balushi 42 (44b, 2×4, 3×6); Arif al Balushi 3-13) by 6 wickets.

OCT Al Mabela 127-7 in 20 overs (Salim al Balushi 39 (48b, 2×4); Qais Khalid 2-17) lost to OCT Al Hail ‘B’ 128-3 in 17.1 overs (Ahmed Mohammed 56 (54b, 3×4), Hassan Mohammed Hussain 50 (40b, 7×4); Nabeel Mohd Boota 21-2) by 7 wickets.