The 10th and final day of the D10 league saw the Ruwi Rangers beat the Qurum Thunders by 8 wickets to lift the tournament’s inaugural trophy at the Oman Cricket Academy on March 22, 2022.
The Rangers were the competition’s most dominant force. They won 10 of their 11 games – the only loss coming in the league stage against the Qurum Thunders, who were their opponents in the final.
The Thunders were excellent too. They lost 4 games in total, but beat the Bousher Busters and Amerat Royals in back-to-back eliminators in the Super League stage to set up a showdown with the Rangers.
The final itself began brilliantly for the side from Qurum. Coming out to bat after losing the toss, the opening pair of Kashyapkumar Prajapati and Jatinder Singh looked imperious. Kaleemullah saw his deliveries dispatched to all parts of the Amerat field – his and the game’s first over costing the Rangers 22 runs. The Oman national team’s openers put together a 63-run partnership to place the Thunders in the driver’s seat.
However, three wickets in three successive overs brought the D20 champions back into the game. Jatinder walked first after making 38 runs. Kashyap was the next casualty and Sandeep Goud completed the sequence. Yet the Thunders marched on with Ayaan Khan and Suraj Kumar Singh in the middle. Ayaan in particular looked at his blistering best, sending three deliveries of the penultimate over into orbit to propel his side past the 100-run mark. He was run out in the final over and the Thunders finished on 125/4.
The second innings got off to a disastrous start for the Rangers who lost an in-form Hannan Rizwan in the very first ball. But what followed was a display of skill, grit and intelligence that made them worthy champions in the end. Khalid Kail and Shafqat Ullah stitched together an 88-run partnership over the next 36 balls. They created openings in the field and used their feet smartly to force the bowlers to constantly adjust their lines and lengths. The Thunders were profligate in their catching too and the pair capitalized to maximum effect.
Sandeep Goud sent Shafqat back for a 20-ball 43, but Khalid Kail stayed put until the very end to take the Rangers over the line. He made 62 runs and finished as the competition’s leading run-getter. Mohammed Naseem kept him company for the final 4 overs. He hit the six that sealed the victory with 2 balls and 8 wickets to spare.
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Pankaj Khimji – Chairman, Oman Cricket, Vivek Chandra – Director, ITW, Paul Sheridan – Vice-Chairman, Oman Cricket, Kiran Asher, Senior Board Member, Oman Cricket and Duleep Mendis – CDO, Oman Cricket were all present to hand out the awards. Khalid Kail picked up the player of the tournament prize, following which the ground staff, umpires, scorers, ACUs and members of security received their tokens of appreciation to close out an evening that brought the 10-day festival of cricket at the OCA to a fitting end.
BRIEF SCORES:
Qurum Thunders 125/4 in 10 overs (Jatinder Singh 38(16) 2 x 4, 4 x 6 Ayaan Khan 33(15) 4 x 6 Kashyapkumar Prajapati 28(14) 4x 4, 1 x 6 ; Wasim Ali 10/1) lost to Ruwi Rangers 130/2 in 9.4 overs (Khalid Kail 62(28) 8 x 4, 2 x 6 Shafqat Ullah 43(20) 3 x 4, 4 x 6 ; Munis Ansari 22/1) by 8 wickets
