Muscat: The final two fixtures of Oman Cricket’s A-Division 50-over season were played at the Oman Cricket Academy on March 31 and April 1, 2022.
In the penultimate contest, Orient Travels defeated Sunlight by 1 wicket in what was a low-scoring thriller.
Electing to bat first, Sunlight lost both their openers cheaply, but an enterprising 62-run partnership between Rafique Mujib Mohamad and Ishtiaq Muhammad wrestled the momentum back in their side’s favor.
However, once the two of them were sent back in the space of three overs, Sunlight’s remaining wickets fell like a pack of cards. Bar Asad, who scored 28 runs, none of the other batters mounted much resistance. As a result, Sunlight were cleaned out for 141 in 30.3 overs.
Orient Travels were excellent in the field during this period. Their standout performer was undoubtedly Qayyum Mudassir, who finished with figures of 5/43 from his 10 overs. Ibrar, Hameed, Anil Kumar and Waleed Al Balushi accounted for the remaining wickets.
In response, Orient Travels pulled off the narrowest of escapes.
Opener Khan Adil played a scintillating knock, scoring more than half of the total runs required by himself. But once he was dismissed in the 18th over for 77 runs, the rest of Orient’s batting cast crumbled, much in the way Sunlight’s had earlier in the day. Waleed Al Balushi and Qayyum Mudassir were the only others to reach double figures.
Fortunately for them, the latter remained unbeaten until the end. Alongside a rotating band of partners at the other end, he managed to drag his side over the line in the 38th over.
With 4 crucial wickets in the second innings, Muhammed Zeeshan was Sunlight’s most impressive player with the ball.
The final game of the A-division was a much more one-sided affair. Sarco LLC registered a comprehensive 119-run victory over LC Tech on April 1, 2022.
Put to bat first after losing the toss, Sarco made their way to a colossal first innings score of 328/7. Opener Sathisha Achary anchored the innings with a majestic century. He was supported at the other end, first by Rakesh Patel who made 46 runs himself, and then by Zahid Hafiz who stayed put even after Achary’s dismissal in the 39th over. He collected 62 runs for his efforts.
Noorul Mohamed Ali was LC Tech’s star with the ball. His 10 overs produced 57 runs but more importantly, 3 wickets. Jayaprakash Devaraju, although expensive, was the other bowler with more than 1 wicket to his name.
Chasing, LC Tech fell well short. They were bundled out for 209 with 5.3 overs to spare.
Supriya Soumitra played a valiant hand and top-scored for his side with a 95-ball 78. However, he didn’t receive much in the way of support from the other end. Jaleel Mahamood was the only other batsman with a sizable contribution. Ultimately the damage done in the first innings could not be repaired and Sarco clinched a comfortable and well-deserved win.
Nazish Mohahammad and Rakesh Patel were both exceptional in the second phase of play with the ball. They picked up 3 wickets apiece. Shridhara Jeethesha, Zahid Hafiz and Guru Kotain claimed the remaining scalps.
Having collected 13 points from 7 games, Zawawi Powertech were crowned champions of Oman Cricket’s A-Division 50-over Season 2021/22. Al-Jadadi Stars picked up 5 points fewer, and came out on the right side on a net run rate tussle with Orient Travels to finish runners-up.
Nidhin Mohan of Al Jadadi Stars finished as the competition’s leading run-getter with 264 runs. Nishad K S of Zawawi Powertech picked up a tournament-high 20 wickets in his 7 outings.
BRIEF SCORES:
Sunlight 141/10 in 30.3 overs (Ishtiaq Muhammad 41(35) 4 x 4, 2 x 6 ; Qayyum Mudassir 43/5) lost to Orient Travels 142/9 in 37.3 overs (Khan Adil 77(52) 11 x 4, 1 x 6 ; Muhammed Zeeshan 35/4) by 1 wicket
Sarco LLC 328/7 in 50 overs (Sathisha Achary 117(118) 13 x 4, 4 x 6 Zahid Hafiz 62(53) 5 x 4, 3 x 6 ; Noorul Mohamed Ali 57/3) beat LC Tech 209/10 in 44.3 overs (Supriya Soumitra 78(95) 9 x 4, 1 x 6 ; Nazish Mohammad 33/3 Rakesh Patel 39/3) by 119 runs
