Dubai Lions edge out Danube Lions to enter Al Dhaid final

Dubai Lions edged past Danube Lions by five runs to enter the final of the Al Dhaid Cricket Village organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council.

Winning the toss and batting first, Dubai Lions struggled to come to terms with early losses with only opener Salman Agha scoring a 13-ball 16.

At four for 34, Dubai Lions were in a state of bother before Anwar Khan provided a ray of hope scoring a patient 27-ball 34 including a lone boundary.
 
But Afzal Shah emerged the saviour as his brilliant unbeaten 40 coming off only 31 deliveries with the help of two hits to the fence and one over it meant Dubai Lions secured a respectable 109 for six in 20 overs.

For Danube Lions, Zahoor Khan and Vikrant Shetty were the top bowlers scalping two wickets each in their four overs.

Chasing what looked like a relatively easier target, Danube Lions made a mess of it despite a positive start.

Openers Asif Iqbal (14, 22balls, 2x4) and Prashant Braggs (26, 20balls, 1x4, 2x6) added 34 runs for the opening wicket.

Andri Brenger began well with a 10 but failed to convert it into a big score while Samiullah Younis also looked firm till he scored 19 from 23 deliveries including two boundaries.
 
As wickets fell, Danube Lions also lost four of its batsmen to run outs thanks to some brilliant fielding and succumbed to 104 in 19.5 overs.

Habib Ghazi and Salman Agha both bagged two wickets for the winners.

Brief scores:

Dubai Lions bt Danube Lions by 5 runs.

Dubai Lions: 109 for 6 in 20 overs (Salman Agha 16, Mohammad Saeed 11, Anwar Khan 27, Afzal Shah 40 not out; Zahoor Khan 2 for 23, Vikrant Shetty 2 for 15). Danube Lions: 104 all out in 19.5 overs (Asif Iqbal 14, Prashant Braggs 26, Andri Brenger 10, Samiullah Younis 19; Habib Ghazi 2 for 22, Salman Agha 2 for 24). Man of the match: Afzal Shah.

Umpires: Ifthikar Ali and Amjad Kikani. Scorers: Zameel Hameed and Mohammad Asif.
 

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