Muscat – A clinical performance by Oman saw them whip Saudi Arabia by 72 runs to secure a spot in semi-finals of the ongoing ACC Men’s Premier Cup at the TU Ground in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Wednesday. Chasing a huge total of 366/7 set up by Oman, the Saudis were bowled out for 294 in the 47th over.

Following the victory, Oman are on top of Group A with six points while hosts Nepal, which will play against Qatar in their last league game on Thursday, have five points. Malaysia and Saudi Arabia finished third and fourth in the pool with four and three points respectively. Qatar have yet to open their account. Nepal are favourites to top the group as they face bottom-place Qatar, and a win will take them past Oman with seven points.

The top two from each group qualifies for the semi-finals with the Group A topper due to meet Group B second-placed team while Group B winners will meet Group A runners-up.

UAE lead Group B with six points after concluding their group engagements. Hong Kong have five points while their next opponents, Kuwait, have four. The winners between Hong Kong and Kuwait on Thursday will seal the spot in the last-four stage. Oman will play either UAE or the winners of Hong Kong or Kuwait in the semi-finals, scheduled to be held on Saturday.

Playing their concluding league Group A match on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia got off to a disappointing start as Waqar ul Hassan became the first of his four victims to leave the team at 1/7 in the third over.

However, Abdul Waheed and Saad Khan, then put up a strong fight back as they shared a 177-run stand in 27 overs to keep the team in the chase of a victory target of 367 runs.

Jay Odedra gave Oman the much-needed breakthrough in the 30th over that changed the course of the match. A double strike from him sent back both the settled batters, first Khan castled by Odedra for 78, and then two balls later, Waheed caught behind by Khushi for 86-ball 95 that included 14 boundaries and a six.

Two overs later, Odedra had his third wicket of the match when he sent back Manan Ali and Saudis were 189/4 to leave Oman in the driver’s seat.

Skipper Hisham Sheikh (36) and Abdul Wahid (25) put up some semblance of a fight, but the rest of the batters fell cheaply as Oman bowled their opposition for 294 in the 47th over.

Bilal Khan was the most successful bowler with 4/75 while Odedra grabbed 3/61. Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood, once again, was named the player of the match for his all-round performance as he took 2/41 after smashing a half-century. Ayaan Khan also was among wickets with 1/56.

Earlier, Oman batters made merry after being put to bat first by Saudi Arabia. The openers – Jatinder Singh and Kashyap Prajapati – who have been in good form in the tournament, slammed the bowlers from the start and raced to a century-partnership in just 12.1 overs with both batters nearing half-centuries.

Saudi Arabia got their first success with Oman at 125 when Prajapati departed for a 53-ball 51 that included six boundaries and two maximums. It was the second match in a row that the Oman openers had shared a century-plus partnership.

There was no let-up from Oman batters as Shoaib Khan joined the run-fest and along with Jatinder shared a 53-run stand in 10 overs. Jatinder, who had hit an unbeaten century against Malaysia in the previous game, was looking good for an encore but fell for a 79-ball 88 that were studded with 11 fours and two sixes.

Skipper Zeeshan Maqsood ensured that the run-rate was kept at a good pace and along with Shoaib shared another half-century partnership. Shoaib was next to depart for 68, which included eight hits to the fence and two over the ropes and Oman were at 238/3 in the 38th over.

Maqsood and Mohammed Nadeem then took over the onslaught and were harsh on any loose deliveries as boundaries came at ease off the blades of both the batters.

Maqsood was Abdul Wahid’s second victim, out for 49-ball 54, which meant that all the top-order batters had scored a half-century. Nadeem was not to be denied as he became the fifth batter to reach his half-century and was unbeaten with quick-fire 38-ball 71.

His breezy knock included six boundaries and four maximums powered Oman past 350-mark at the end of innings after a double-strike in the 48th over from Atif-Ur-Rahman saw Naseem Khushi and Sandeep Goud make their way back to the pavilion in a space of three balls.

Nadeem and Ayaan Khan ensured that Oman reach their highest-ever List-A total of 366/6.

It was also the first-ever occasion that the top-five batters had hit half-centuries for Oman in a 50-over match as two records were set on Wednesday.

Rahman was the most successful bowler for Saudi Arabia with 3/80 while Abdul Wahid picked 2/64.

Brief scores: Oman 366/6 (Kashyap Prajapati 51, Jatinder Singh 88, Shoaib Khan 68, Zeeshan Maqsood 54, Mohammad Nadeem 71 n.o.; Atif-Ur-Rahman 3/80, Abdul Wahid 2/64) beat Saudi Arabia 294 in 46.5 overs (Abdul Waheed 95, Saad Khan 78, Hisham Sheikh 36; Bilal Khan 4/75, Jay Odedra 3/61, Zeeshan Maqsood 2/41).