THE 2024 Petrofuel TCA Caravans T20 Cup tournament hosts, Alliance Caravans, have opened their campaign impressively having trounced Econo Lodge Lions by 111 runs in the showpiece's clash which took place in Dar es Salaam last weekend.

In what turned out to be Alliance Caravans' opening match of the tournament, the cricketers- who settled for the runners-up spot in the past edition of the showdown- were all out to begin grandly and turn into strong contenders for this year's title.

With several new cricketers brought in to strengthen the side, Alliance Caravans were asked to bat first by Econo Lodge Lions who won the toss.

The bating squad's key performers - Adersh Dileep and Kassim Nassoro - had to depart early having been dismissed by Econo Lodge Lions' Rehaan Atif and Abdullah Imtiyaz respectively.

The two quick dismissals somewhat instilled fear in the hearts of the capacity crowd but wicketkeeper-cum-batsman Prakash Nair then had a debut to remember, scoring 105 runs in 61 deliveries for Alliance Caravans.

He was supported by stand-in captain Akhil Anil 27 (18) and Jerry Mathew 33 (16). At the end of the allotted 20 overs, Alliance Caravans registered a mammoth 194/6.

Youthful cricketer Dylan Manish had a notable contribution when Econo Lodge Lions fielded, ending his bowling spell with 2-42 in four overs. He was responsible for the crucial dismissal of Alliance Caravans' fearsome opener Nair.

Fellow bowlers Atif Salim, Wickson Costa, Imtiyaz, and Rehaan wound up with a wicket each for the Econo Lodge Lions.

In return, it seemed like a mismatch- with Econo Lodge Lions failing to chase their opponents' mammoth figure, managing to notch 83 runs all out in 19.1 overs.

Econo Lodge Lions' opener Manish was the only glimmer of hope- registering double figures after scoring 25 runs in 32 deliveries.

Alliance Caravans, in the end, won the match by a massive 111-run margin and got their aspirations for the title chase underway in good fashion.

Undoubtedly, Nair clinched the Ras Logistics Man of the Match prize for his 105 in 61 deliveries.

Mathew’s quickfire 33 off 16 was regarded as the Medinova Specialised Polyclinic Moment of the Match. 

At the end of the second game week of the tournament showdown, Aurobindo AKSC's Abhik Patwa still leads the Colourflex Orange Cap rankings with 122 runs in two games.

There has however been a change in the Automark Purple Cap holder ranking- with Flashnet Strikers' Jatin Darji now leading the way with six wickets in three matches.

The recently concluded TCA Dar 30 Overs Cup's Division B final ensured that the 10th team for this year’s Petrofuel TCA Caravans Cup is found- with Generics Gymkhana earning the much-coveted spot.

The tournament is an annual T20 cricket competition organized by Caravans Cricket Club. 

Petrofuel is the title sponsor of this tournament. Other sponsors of this tournament include Alliance Insurance, Ras Logsitics, Medinova Healthcare, Automark, Pepsi, Ashton Media, MFI-Vertiv, Jiuzhou, SmarDTV, Intek-Korea, ASAS, Colourflex, and Delaware.

Aurobindo, Balakrishna Foundation, Park Mobile, Harab Motors, Flashnet, Generics, Econo Lodge, Azania Bank, Horizon Teleports, TATA, The Works, MO Bajaj, and Seacliff Hotel are also the showpiece's sponsors.

APOLOGY: In the sports page of the Thursday edition of The Guardian newspaper, we carried an article concerning this tournament, which erroneously mentioned that Harab Motors Pak Stars had secured victory over Aurobindo AKSC. The correct information, though, is that Aurobindo AKSC had beat Harab Motors Pak Stars by six wickets. We apologize for any inconvenience the article has caused.