Oman advanced to semi-finals defeating Saudi Arabia

KATHMANDU: Oman has advanced to the semi-finals of the ACC Premier League cricket tournament after defeating Saudi Arabia today.

Oman defeated Saudi Arabia by 72 runs in the match at the Tribhuvan University cricket ground in Kirtipur, becoming the second team from Group ‘A’ to advance to the semi-finals.

Nepal had already advances to the semi-finals from Group ‘A’. Oman now has 6 points in four games and has qualified for the semi-finals.

Oman outscored Saudi Arabia by 367 runs to claim victory.

Saudi Arabia responded by losing all six wickets in 46.5 overs and being reduced to 294 runs. Saudi Arabia’s opening batsman, Abdul Waheed, scored 95 runs. He batted 86 balls and scored 95 runs, hitting 14 fours and one six.

Saad Khan too scored 78 runs. Out of 80 balls, he hit 10 fours and one six. Other than Hisham Shaikh’s 36 runs, Abdul Waheed’s 25, Atif-Ur-Rehman’s 16, and Imran Aarif’s 10, no other players scored in double figures.

On the bowling side, Oman’s Bilal Khan took four wickets on his own, while Jay Odedra took three. Ayan Khan took one wicket and Zeeshan Maqsood took two.

Prior to it, Oman, who won the toss and was invited to bat first, lost six wickets in the stipulated 50 overs and scored 366 runs. Oman had five batters score half centuries.

Jitendra Singh of Oman scored the most runs with 88. He faced 79 balls and scored 88 runs, hitting 11 fours and two sixes. Similarly, Mohammad Nadeem of Oman scored an unbroken 71 runs, Swab Khan 68 runs, and captain Zeeshan Maqsood 54 runs. Kashyap Prajapati also contributed 51 runs.

Saudi Arabian bowler Atif-Ur-Rehman took three wickets, while Abdul Waheed took two. Saudi Arabia has been eliminated from the competition as a result of its defeat.

Nepal will play against Qatar in the last group stage match tomorrow at the TU Cricket Ground in Kirtipur. The game will begin at 9 a.m. This match will determine the group champions and runners-up.