LIONS C has booked a spot in the 2024 TCA Dar 20 Overs Cup-Division C final following the squad's 10-run win over Malabar Cricket Club (MCC) in the semi-final which took place at Annadil Burhani Club's oval recently.

The Lions C side, a third-string squad of Lions Cricket Club, went in to bat first in the pulsating duel and ended with 147/7 in the allotted 20 overs.

Openers Ashfaq Imtiyaz and Dylan Manish made their squad's intention to end with a convincing total known via the stellar showing the duo put up at the crease.

Imtiyaz, the batsman with the most runs in the team, surpassed the half-century mark and made his way back with 52 runs.

Lions C had reached 111 runs with four wickets down when Imtiyaz was dismissed in the 15th over.

The MCC wicket-keeper Vindal Sharma went for a catch to dismiss the promising batsman from Roshan Gaussian's bowling.

Imtiyaz nailed five boundaries in his stint, whereas his fellow opener, Manish, scored 24 runs which included five fours.

Johnson David, who came at number seven, made his presence felt with equally solid batting- which saw him notch an unbeaten 25 runs.

There was as well a significant contribution with the bat from team captain, Mubin Hassan, as the cricketer posted 15 runs.

Augustine Mwamele, batting at number five, also made his way back with two digits-  chipping in with 11 runs.

Karim Kiseto, a reliable top-order batsman, was one run short of two digits in his brief stint with the bat for the batting team.

Ali Asgar (2-23 in four overs) was by far the only MCC bowler with a significant showing when the team fielded.

Asgar completed his bowling stint with a 5.75 economy rate in his four-over stint. 

Fellow bowlers - Sabbirhussain Husamudin, Gaussian, Tinoby Thankachan and Sreejesh Puthiyaveetil - finished their spells with one wicket each for MCC.

Needing 148 runs to come out with victory, MCC put a spirited showing but they fell short, managing to score 137/9 in 20 overs and suffer defeat.

Opener Gaussian was one of the cricketers with significant contributions for MCC having scored 47 runs.

The opener had MCC reaching 58 runs with two wickets taken when he exited the crease in the ninth over. 

The MCC batting unit suffered a wobble early on following an early dismissal of the other opener, Muhammad Faisal, as the performer was eight runs short of two digits.

Thankachan - batting at number eight - had MCC attempting to put up a fightback later on, having notched 20 runs.

There were further encouraging performances by Shajil Ayadathil (11 runs) and Gokul Nair (10 runs) for MCC.

Team captain Vinesh Kv was three runs short of two digits as his efforts to help MCC get down to a successful chase ended in vain.

Husamudin (six runs not out) and Puthiyaveetil (three runs not out) ended the innings with bat in hand even though they could not win the tie for MCC.

The MCC total was somewhat buoyed by 13 extras given away by Lions C's bowlers, which included one bye, three leg byes, and nine wides.

Brijesh Bhadresa (3-29 in four overs) and Kiseto (2-21 in four overs) played an important role in Lions C's successful quest for foiling MCC's chase.

Wickson Costa and Rehaan Atif- who took one wicket apiece- made matters worse for the MCC batting unit.

Lions C's Imtiyaz was deservedly presented with the Player of the Match prize for his scintillating batting display.

Lions C would play against Dar Indian Titans in the 2024 TCA Dar 20 Overs Cup-Division C final slated for Sunday.

The C. Nehra-led Dar Indian Titans garnered a 12-run win over Patel Titans in the semi-final on Sunday.