Tuesday 29 / April / 2025
MUSCAT: Jitenkumar Ramanandi excelled with the bat and ball to take Al Turki NMC to a sensational 11-run victory against Arm Alpha in a low-scoring Premier Division 50-over League thriller at OC Turf 1 in Amerat on Saturday.
Al Turki found the going tough in a battle of best bowling attacks as Oman’s pace trio Bilal Khan, Kaleemullah and Ahmed Fayyaz Butt, did for Alpha what they do best for the country against top international sides; run through sides when the conditions are in their favour. Leaving Al Turki to defend a meagre 107, Butt (4 for 41), Kaleemullah (23 for 27) and Khan (2 for 35) paved the way for Alpha to cause a big upset by overhauling a small total that would have been much smaller had Jitenkumar Ramanandi not contributed a defiant 26 not out, which also turned out to be the game’s highest individual score.
Facing an in-form Al Turki attack, Arm Alpha found itself in a mess, teetering at 77 for 6 despite being 45 for 1 at one stage. A few overs later, the whole side was sent packing for 96, presenting Al Turki two precious points as it closed in on Muscat CT and IT Works who both have 12 points from seven games each in what looks like an intense three-horse race for the title.
While Jay Odedara (3 for 27), Hamelkumar Tandel (3 for 37) and Mehran Khan (2 for 13) all bowled well, It was Jitenkumar again who looked exceptional with the ball, taking two wickets for only 6 runs in his six overs three of which were maiden.
Brief Scores (Premier Division): Al Turki NMC 107 all out in 26.5 overs (Jitenkumar Ramanandi 26 – 4x4, Ahmad Fayyaz 4-41, Kaleemullah 3-27, Bilal Khan 2-35) beat Arm Alpha 96 all out in 31.2 overs (Parth Trivedi 23 – 2x4, Odedara Jay 3-27, Hemalkumar Tandel 3-37, Mehran Khan 2-13, Jitenkumar Ramanandi 2-6) by 11 runs.
Adnan stars in big win for IT Works
In another Premier Division match, veteran Oman star Adnan Ilyas struck a vital 89 to help IT Works to a comfortable 139-run win over AER in a one-sided contest at OC Turf 1 on Friday.
Adnan came out to bat when IT Works was struggling at 42 for 4 in the 10 th over. He was instrumental in his reaching a fighting 251 all out by adding 51 for the fifth wicket along with Adeel Ahmed, who scored 47, and then 65 for the sixth wicket with Muhammed Nadeem, who contributed 24. Shoaib Muhammed picked up 4 for 50 while Ghazanfar Iqbal claimed 3 for 46.
Winless AER failed to fight again, folding up for a disappointing 112 as spinners Shakeel Ahmed and Zeeshan Maqsood bagged three wickets each. Shoaib topscored with 21.
Brief Scores (Premier Division): IT Works 251 all out in 48.5 overs (Adnan Sulehri 89 – 10x4, 4x6, Adeel Ahmad 47 – 2x4, 1x6, Shoaib Muhammed 4-50, Ghazanfar Iqbal 3-46, Mohammed Nooran 2-41 beat AER 112 all out in 31 overs (Shoaib Muhammed 21 – 2x4, 2x6, Shakeel Ahmad 3-20, Zeeshan Maqsood 3-27, Rana Naeem 2-26) by 139 runs.
E &Y upsets unbeaten Zawawi
Akbar Sheeraz’s 4 for 44 and Farhan Afzal’s 56 were the highlights of Ernst & Young’s stunning one-wicket victory against A Division leader Zawawi Powertech at OC Turf 2 on Friday.
Zawawi was dismissed for a lowly 151 in the 43 rd over due largely to brilliant bowling by Sheeraz, Alkesh Joshi (2 for 18) and Farhan (2 for 30). Alkesh in particular was the most economical, giving away only 18 runs in his ten overs two of which were maiden.
Ernst & Young was made to struggle for each and every run it scored as Zawawi launched the offensive from the very outset, reducing it to 39 for 6 by the 17th over. However, Farhan added 66 runs for the seventh wicket with Raza Zeeshan who scored 22 off 49. E&Y managed to surpass the total off the last ball of the match, scoring 152 for 9 for a sensational victory. Prabhakaran Kannan claimed 3 for 38 while Klairasan Natarajan and Suhil Kanagaraj bagged two wickets each.
Brief Scores (A Division): Zawawi Powertech 151 all out in 42.5 overs (Ramkumar Chinna 45 – 5x4, Akbar Sheeraz 4-44, Alkesh Joshi 2-18, Farhan Afzal 2-30) lost to Ernst & Young 152 for 9 in 50 overs (Farhan Afzal 56 – 3x4, 2x6, Prabhakaran Kannan 3-38, Kalaiarasan Natarajan 2-16, Suhil Kanagaraj 2-33) by 1 wicket.
Rahul shines in win for LC Tech
Rahul Rajeev’s 66-ball 92 and Noushad Haneefa’s 4 for 26 powered LC Tech to a six-wicket win over PDO RC in a 30-over B Division League game at Muscat Municipality ground 1 on Friday.
PDO failed to post a big total on the board, getting bowled out for 160 in the 27th over. Nadeem Ahmed topscored with 56 off 44. Apart from Noushad, Jaleel Ahmed bowled well too, taking 3 for 23.
It took LC Tech only 19.1 overs to surpass the total, scoring 164 for 4 thanks to Rahul’s brilliant knock while Ashok Patel contributed a fluent 38.
Brief Scores (B Division): PDO RC 160 all out in 26.5 overs (Nadeem Ahmed 56 – 8x4, 1x6, Iqbal Javed 32 – 9x4, Noushad Haneefa 4-26, Jaleel Mahamood 3-23) lost to LC Tech 164 for 4 in 19.1 overs (Rahul Rajeev 92 – 12x4, Ashok Patel 38 – 7x4, Zakir Khan 3-40) by 6 wickets.
