Marumani wreaks havoc as Great Zimbabwe’s perfect run continues

Westside – 73-5 in 10 overs (Clive Chitumba 24, Kevin Kasuza 14, Donald Tiripano 10*; Tendai Nyamayaro 2/10, Daichi Nyandoro 2/12, Tinashe Nenhunzi 1/4)

Takashinga Patriots 2 – 76-3 in 9.1 overs (Cunningham Ncube 33*, Daichi Nyandoro 13, Brian Majoka 11*; Fortune Mhlanga 2/15, Frank Mazviita 1/19)

Takashinga Patriots 2 won by seven wickets

A fine innings of 33 not out by Cunningham Ncube after a fine all-round team bowling performance enabled Takashinga Patriots 2 to break their duck and record their first victory of the Zim Cyber-City Domestic T10 tournament by beating Westside handsomely by seven wickets in the first match at Harare Sports Club on Monday.

Westside were put in to bat and, despite losing Tinashe Chiora without scoring, had a good foundation laid for their innings by Clive Chitumba, who scored 24 off 12 balls.

He had quite a good partnership with Kevin Kasuza, although the latter could score only 14 off 18 deliveries.

After Chitumba left the scoring rate dropped and when Kasuza was out at 53 for three in the eighth over the innings was very much in need of some dynamic scoring.

It never came, as three wickets fell in four balls, and although Donald Tiripano hit 10 not out off seven balls, Westside could manage a total of only 73 for five wickets.

Takashinga’s bowlers did a fine job: Daichi Nyandoro and Tendai Nyamayaro took two wickets each for 10 and 12 runs respectively.

Equal credit should go to Nigel Mupurura (two overs for only three runs) and Tinashe Nenhunzi (two overs for only four runs and the dismissal of Chitumba with a return catch).

Encouraged by this, Takashinga had no batting problems this time as they applied themselves to hunting down their target.

Tariro Mukauyo went early for two, bowled by Fortune Mhlanga, but Nyandoro scored 13, while Ncube, wisely sent in at number three in this match, played the stable, confident innings his team needed.

Mhlanga struck again to bowl out Nenhunzi for seven, but now Brian Majoka came in to score 11 not out and share the winning partnership with Ncube.

The pair brought off the long-awaited victory with five balls to spare, Ncube’s 33 coming off 25 balls with three fours.

Mhlanga with two wickets for 15 runs was the most successful of the Westside bowlers.

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Great Zimbabwe Patriots – 137-3 in 10 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 96, Richmond Mutumbami 23, Tony Munyonga 7; Manson Chikowero 2/14, Brad Evans 1/14)

Harare Kings – 96-6 in 10 overs (Saad Khan 27, Sikandar Raza 19, Brad Evans 19; Sydney Murombo 3/10, Luke Jongwe 2/18, Costa Zhou 1/16)

Great Zimbabwe Patriots won by 41 runs

An astonishing match-winning innings of 96 by Tadiwanashe Marumani lit up Harare Sports Club in the second T10 game for Great Zimbabwe against Harare Kings.

This match had been eagerly anticipated as a contest between the two top teams on the log, both with three wins out of three, but when Marumani got going it was soon virtually no contest at all, Great Zimbabwe winning by 41 runs.

Great Zimbabwe like to win the toss and bat first, and when they did so again Marumani cracked three fours and a two off the first four balls of the innings from Faraz Akram.

While Richmond Mutumbami played the supporting role, Marumani continued to hammer every bowler that came against him in a brilliant array of dazzling strokes.

He raced to his second fifty of the tournament off 23 balls – no other batter has yet reached that landmark – getting there with a six, and continued the onslaught with one bludgeoning stroke after another.

As the bowlers could do nothing more than watch their deliveries sail to or over the boundary, Marumani was on course to reach the almost unimaginable feat of scoring a century in a 10-over innings.

Unfortunately, when he reached 96 and wanting to reach three figures with yet another boundary, Brad Evans got a ball through his defences and bowled him out.

His amazing innings came to an end in the ninth over, after facing only 39 balls, seven of them having travelled for six and nine more for four.

The score then was 121 for one, with nine balls left.

These brought another 16 runs and the wickets of Mutumbami for 23 off 20 balls and Tony Munyonga for seven, both out in the final over from Manson Chikowero – his only over which cost 14 runs.

Evans was the only bowler to escape serious punishment, bowling his two overs for 14 runs and claiming Marumani’s wicket.

The unfortunate Akram and Alex Falao went for 35 and 36 runs respectively in their two overs.

With such great attacking batters as Cephas Zhuwao and Sikandar Raza to come, it was not quite impossible for Harare Kings to score the 138 for victory.

However, their hopes were in vain, as Zhuwao was bowled by Sydney Murombo for six and Raza caught off Costa Zhou for 19 off eight balls.

Saad Khan did best of the batters, scoring 27 off 15 balls, while Evans made 19 off 14 balls.

But they could do no better than a total of 96 for six wickets, yielding victory and the sole leadership of the table to Great Zimbabwe.

Murombo, who actually bowled a maiden over that included three wickets with the score at 15, conceded only 10 runs for them, while Luke Jongwe took two for 18.

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Takashinga Patriots 1 – 95-8 in 10 overs (Tanaka Chivanga 23*, Baxton Gopito 19, Joylord Gumbie 13; Trevor Gwandu 3/14, Marshall Takodza 2/12, Wallace Mubaiwa 1/11)

Lions – 79-9 in 10 overs (Marshall Takodza 21, Christopher Masike 16, Bright Phiri 11; Shingi Masakadza 3/14, Tapiwa Mufudza 3/21, Tanaka Chivanga 2/8)

Takashinga Patriots 1 won by 16 runs

An impressive all-round performance from Tanaka Chivanga of Takashinga Patriots 1 proved to be the difference between them and Lions in the day’s final match, giving the Highfield-based team their second victory by a margin of 16 runs.

Takashinga decided to bat on winning the toss, but the only batter from their top order to get going at all was Baxton Gopito, who scored 19 off 12 balls.

Trevor Gwandu struck two great blows in the third over when in three balls he removed Tinashe Kamunhukamwe for seven and Innocent Kaia without scoring.

With six wickets down for 42 in the sixth over, and then 59 for seven in the seventh, Takashinga were in real trouble.

They were only able to produce a presentable total thanks to unexpected help from Chivanga, who hit out furiously and scored 23 not out off 10 balls, with two sixes and a four.

This valuable innings boosted the total to 95 for eight wickets, and it proved to be the individual performance that turned the match.

Lions now had a competitive target to chase down.

Richard Ngarava did a good job for Takashinga by starting with a maiden over to Blessed Muzite, making Lions’ task a little more difficult, especially if they lost wickets.

And so it happened: Muzite used up nine balls before Chivanga trapped him lbw.

Bright Phiri (11 off 5 balls and caught off Chivanga) and Clive Madande (6) were soon out and five wickets were down for 35 in the sixth over.

Christopher Masike made a superb but brief effort to restore matters, hitting two sixes and a four off three balls before being caught – inevitably by Chivanga – off the fourth he faced for 16.

Marshall Takodza also batted very well, scoring 21 off 12 balls before he was caught off Shingi Masakadza for 21, but he could find no support from any of the later batters.

He was out at the start of the final over with the score now 76 for seven wickets, and the innings trailed off to a close at 79 for nine, leaving Takashinga winners by 16 runs.

Masakadza did well to finish with three wickets for 14 runs at the death, while Tapiwa Mufudza had three for 21.

But the most vital overs were bowled at the start, Ngarava bowling two overs for just one run and no wicket, while Chivanga took two for eight, and Lions were unable to recover.

ZIM CYBER-CITY DOMESTIC T10 POINTS TABLE

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