Muchawaya last-over heroics earn Joburg Bangla Tigers maiden Zim Afro T10 title

Joburg Bangla Tigers – 129-5 in 10 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 44, Kusal Perera 33, Hazratullah Zazai 19; Nicholson Gordon 2/10, Amir Hotak 1/14, Qais Ahmed 1/24)

Cape Town Samp Army – 124-2 in 10 overs (Dawid Malan 62*, Brian Bennett 36, Jack Taylor 23*; Adam Milne 2/18)

Joburg Bangla Tigers won by five runs

Tinashe Muchawaya recovered from being hit two sixes in the first runs of the last over to land Joburg Bangla Tigers a five-run win over Cape Town Samp Army in a Zim Afro T10 second season final at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Needing to defend 21, he was lofted twice by Jack Taylor, and the Samp Army looked as if they were about to win it.

However, Muchawaya kept his head after some encouragement from the brains trust, including captain Sikandar Raza.

Dawid Malan, for once, couldn’t rise to the occasion, missing the fourth delivery and only getting a leg-bye off the fifth.

Taylor needed to hit a six off the final delivery to equal the scores and force a super over, but he could only get the ball away for a single, and the match and the tournament belonged to the Tigers.

Earlier, the Samp Army won the toss and put the Tigers in.

Kusal Perera led the way, scoring 33 off 11 balls, with four sixes and a four, in an opening partnership of 59 in only 3.4 overs with Mohammad Shahzad.

Shahzad went on to make 44 off 25 balls, but after the score reached 97 in the eighth over, wickets fell quickly in the search for quick runs, and the momentum was lost.

The innings ended at 129 for five, with Sikandar Raza not out with 12, having had too little time to make much of a mark on the innings.

Gordon Nicholson took two wickets for ten runs in the final over, but overall, Amir Hotak did well with one for 14 in his two overs.

Samp Army also made a perfect start, although Brian Bennett and Dawid Malan were never quite able to match the feat of their opponents’ opening pair.

They put on 83 before the New Zealander Adam Milne returned to bowl the seventh over, which changed the course of the match, costing only six runs.

With his second ball, he bowled out Bennett, who made 36 off 21 balls, and with his fourth, he had Rohan Mustafa caught without scoring.

But it would be Muchawaya to thwart the Samp Army and send the Tigers fans roaring.