Muscat – OCT Ruwi maintained their spotless record in the All-Omani tournament with a nine-wicket victory over OCT Seeb in the semi-final, held at the Oman Cricket Academy on Monday.

Electing to bat first, OCT Seeb only managed to make 97 in 19 overs. Issa al Balushi top-scored with 22 

Ali Akbar Mohamed al Balushi’s took three wickets with all coming in one over to break OCT Seeb’s back. Mohammed al Balushi and Nawed Abdulmajeed al Balushi also picked up 3 wickets each for OCT Ruwi.

In response, OCT Ruwi chased the target down in 12.5 overs. Mohammed al Balushi continued his brilliant form in the tournament with an unbeaten 36. Fellow opener Wasim Ismail Mohamed al Balushi blitzed his way to an 11-ball 23. Zubair Ali Akbar al Balushi came in and was involved in a 66-run partnership with Mohammed which sealed a richly deserved win for OCT Ruwi. al Balushi finished with 34 runs.

OCT Ruwi now await the identity of the second finalist and will contest them for the crown on April 21, 2022. OCT Seeb, on the other hand, are one of the teams vying for third place, with their match also scheduled on the same day.

Meanwhile, on Turf 2, OCT al Mabela registered their first win of the tournament in the Eliminator against OCT al Amerat.

Batting first after winning the toss, OCT al Mabela lost wickets at regular intervals, but Shareef al Balushi’s brilliant 41-run knock served to anchor their innings. Assad al Balushi contributed an invaluable 26 runs while Zafarullah al Balushi and Asif al Balushi chipped in with 15 and 13 runs respectively to take OCT al Mabela to a creditable 126 for 9 in 20 overs.

Rafeeq Mohammed Siyad al Balushi took 3 for 25 for OCT al Amerat.

But OCT al Amerat’s run-chase never really got going at all as none of their batsmen were able to make a sizable impact on the game. Anaya Allah top-scored with 17 runs. Ateel Yousuf was the only other to reach double figures and his side fell 52 runs short in the end, folding for 74 in 17.3 overs.

Nabeel Mohd Boota was the pick of OCT al Mabela’s bowlers with three wickets. Shareef al Balushi and Saeed al Balushi claimed two apiece. OCT al Mabela now face OCT al Hail ‘B’ in a fight for 5th place on April 12, 2022.

BRIEF SCORES:

OCT Seeb 97 all out in 19 overs (Issa al Balushi 22(22) 2 x 4 ; Mohammed al Balushi 3 for 8, Nawed Abdulmajeed al Balushi 3 for 15 Ali Akbar Mohamed al Balushi 3 for 18) lost to OCT Ruwi 102/1 in 12.5 overs (Mohammed al Balushi 36(30) 2×4, 2×6 Zubair Ali Akabr al Balushi 34(36) 2×4, 2×6) by 9 wickets

OCT al Mabela 126/9 in 20 overs (Shareef al Balushi 41(39) 3×4; Rafeeq Mohammed Siyad al Balushi 3 for 25) beat OCT al Amerat 74 all out in 17.3 overs (Anaya Allah 17(15) 1×4, 1×6; Nabeel Mohd Boota 3 for 14) by 52 runs