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Eagles – 190-6 in 20 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 64, Nick Welch 40, Matthew Welch 30; Salman Mirza 2/30, Wellington Masakadza 2/50, Prosper Mugeri 1/18)
Mega Market Mountaineers – 191-6 in 18.3 overs (Brian Bennett 58, Joylord Gumbie 39, Tony Munyonga 31; Marshall Takodza 2/42, Hamza Sajjad 1/19, Chamu Chibhabha 1/20)
Mega Market Mountaineers won by four wickets
Brilliant fifties by Tadiwanashe Marumani for Eagles and Brian Bennett for Mega Market Mountaineers dominated a high-scoring first match of the day at Old Hararians Sports Club on Thursday, which eventually saw the latter side chase down a target of 191 to win this Domestic T20 Cup clash by four wickets with nine balls to spare.
Eagles, put in to bat, were given a good start by Craig Ervine (18) and Matthew Welch (30), who made 41 for the first wicket in five overs.
This was carried on so well by Marumani and Nick Welch that the third wicket did not fall until the score reached 142 in the 16th over.
Welch scored 40 off 30 balls, while Marumani’s 64 took only 37 balls and contained two sixes and seven fours.
Wickets fell as the later batters hustled for runs, but the eventual total was 190 for six wickets, a difficult task for Mountaineers.
Salman Mirza with two wickets for 30 was the best bowler for Mountaineers.
Mountaineers lost PJ Moor in the first over, but then came superb hitting from Joylord Gumbie (39) and Bennett, whose 58, with exactly the same boundary count as Marumani, came off only 31 balls.
Tony Munyonga scored 31 off 16 balls, but when he was out at 150 for six in the 17th over the odds seemed to favour Eagles.
However, Wellington Masakadza, with 23 off 11 balls, and Mirza (16 off 10), hit so well that they swept their team to victory with their unbroken partnership of 41 off only 14 balls.
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Tuskers – 158-8 in 20 overs (Ben McKinney 40, Milton Shumba 40, Clive Madande 24; Jalat Khan 3/24, Dylan Hondo 2/24, Tendai Chisoro 1/29)
Southern Rocks – 161-7 in 19.3 overs (Eddie Byrom 54, Roy Kaia 27, Tendai Chisoro 23; Nkosana Mpofu 3/28, Charlton Tshuma 3/35, Ernest Masuku 1/26)
Southern Rocks won by three wickets
Eddie Byrom again led the way with a dashing fifty as Southern Rocks inflicted a fourth consecutive defeat on the hapless Tuskers, by three wickets in a close finish to the afternoon match at Old Hararians Sports Club.
Tuskers, put in to bat, lost Nkosana Mpofu for one in the first over, but then briefly impressed with a dynamic second-wicket partnership of 42 in four overs, the leading figure being the Durham guest player Ben McKinney, who raced to 40 off only 17 balls, with three sixes and four fours.
They however never had it so good again, as Sean Williams again failed to fire, out for five.
Brian Chari held the early batting together with 24 off 22 balls, Clive Madande made 24 off 17, while Milton Shumba scored 40 off 36 balls.
Jalat Khan bowled very well to take three wickets for 24, and the final total was 158 for eight wickets.
Rocks lost Cephas Zhuwao without scoring, but Byrom then played his dynamic innings, 54 off only 31 balls with a six and eight fours.
With Roy Kaia making 27, Rocks raced past 100 with just two wickets down in the 11th over.
Suddenly they had a shock, as Mpofu in consecutive overs took three wickets to make the score 115 for five, and the match was wide open again.
Tendai Chisoro hit a bold 23, while William Mashinge played a quieter game, but he came to the fore when needed, and with two successive boundaries off Charlton Tshuma took Rocks to victory with three balls to spare.
Tshuma had hitherto bowled well to take three wickets for 36, while Mpofu had three for 28.
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Durham – 161-7 in 17 overs (Paul Coughlin 47*, Alex Lees 24, Bas de Leede 22; Wallace Mubayiwa 4/20, Ryan Burl 2/35, Muhammad Adil 1/27)
Rhinos – 130-7 in 17 overs (Ryan Burl 56, Prince Masvaure 14, Tashinga Musekiwa 12; Callum Parkinson 2/9, Oliver Gibson 2/24, Colin Ackermann 1/15)
Durham won by 31 runs
Ryan Burl hit powerfully for 56 off 38 balls, the left-arm spinner Wallace Mubayiwa took four wickets for 20 runs, but even these fine performances could not enable Rhinos to bear Durham’s run of victories in the Domestic T20 Cup.
The English county team triumphed by 31 runs in a contest which was reduced to 17 overs per side after a delayed start due to rain at Harare Sports Club.
And with that victory, the tourists booked their place in the final of the tournament to be played at the same venue on Saturday.
In this match, Durham began batting at a good pace of about seven runs an over, gradually increasing it, but steadily losing wickets.
Alex Lees made 24 and Bas de Leede 22, but Mubayiwa took four middle-order wickets in three successive overs, and in the 14th over the seventh wicket fell at 118.
Paul Coughlin then hit out mightily at this vital juncture to make 47 off only 21 balls, with a six and five fours.
This took the Durham total to 161 for seven wickets, which proved to be too much for Rhinos.
They lost Takudzwanaishe Kaitano, bowled by the third ball of the innings from Callum Parkinson, and the first four wickets went down for 36 inside six overs.
Burl was in fine form, but the best support he could find was only 14 from Prince Masvaure and 12 from Tashinga Musekiwa.
Neville Madziva joined him at 63 for five as he hit out in their partnership of 60 in seven overs, but was able to contribute only eight runs off 17 balls.
When Burl was caught off Oliver Gibson at 123 for six, the task was a virtually impossible 40 runs off the last eight deliveries, and Madziva also went two balls later.
The eventual total was 130 for seven wickets, with two wickets each to Parkinson and Gibson.
Durham now sit supreme at the top of the table with 10 points from their four matches, enough to take them into the final, while Rhinos retain second place with five points.
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