Tuskers gore Rhinos to end poor Pro50 campaign on good note

Tuskers – 240-9 in 50 overs (Clive Madande 75, Milton Shumba 68, Tanu Makoni 37; Carl Mumba 3/39, Ryan Burl 2/31, Trevor Gwandu 2/36)

Rhinos – 134 all out in 32.1 overs (Prince Masvaure 35, Johnathan Campbell 30*, Ryan Burl 26; Ainsley Ndlovu 3/13, Ernest Masuku 3/21, Luke Jongwe 2/37)

Tuskers won by 106 runs

One big partnership between Milton Shumba and Clive Madande, and a magical bowling spell from Ainsley Ndlovu, were the main ingredients in Tuskers’ 106-run victory in what was these sides’ final Pro50 Championship match this season at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

Tuskers batted first on winning the toss, but immediately lost Taffy Mupariwa, caught at the wicket off Trevor Gwandu without scoring.

This brought in Craig Ervine, who scored 99 not out against Rhinos on Thursday, and his opponents were delighted when Carl Mumba bowled him out for only 12 this time, scored off 18 balls and with the score now 21 for two wickets.

Sean Williams quickly fell for six, caught by Ryan Burl off Johnathan Campbell, at 39 for three in the 11th over, and Rhinos doing well.

Gradually the tide began to turn against them, as Shumba began to play himself in with the company of the surviving opener, Tanu Makoni.

The score reached 81 after 20 overs when Makoni was run out for 37, and it was a vital stage of the innings when Madande joined Shumba at the wicket.

These two young batters rose superbly to the challenge, playing freely but soundly and staying together to ensure there was no middle-order collapse again.

They wisely never set out to take the bowling attack apart, but just kept the runs flowing fluently, with Shumba going to his fifty off 72 balls and Madande taking 71 over his fifty.

At this stage the score was 179 for four wickets after 41 overs, and it was obviously time to speed up the scoring in the death overs.

Both began to hit out, but the end of their 126-run partnership came after 44 overs, when Shumba fell lbw to Gwandu for his excellent 68, scored off 87 balls with six fours.

Madande followed two overs later, another lbw with Burl being the bowler, having scored 75 off 87 balls with 10 fours, and the score now 219 for six in the 46th over.

The innings now faded badly, with the last five batters quite unable either to score quickly or stay in, with the exception of the last man, Panashe Maphosa, who hit the only ball he received for four.

The four batters above him in the order could score only 14 runs off 30 balls, with Luke Jongwe finishing with six not out off 10.

The final total then was 240 for nine wickets, a feeble finish to the innings after such a fine partnership.

Mumba, who took the last two wickets to fall, finished with figures of three for 39, while Gwandu and Burl both took two wickets.

The Rhinos target of 241 was not a very easy one for a rather inconsistent batting side as they have tended to be in this tournament.

They made a bad start, but so did Ernest Masuku, whose first two deliveries were wides, one of which went for four past the wicketkeeper.

At 18, Takudzwanashe Kaitano was caught off Masuku for five, while at 23 Tarisai Musakanda failed again, lbw to Jongwe for two.

Prince Masvaure held firm at one end, while Burl played his strokes for a while, hitting five fours in scoring 26 before Shumba held a catch off Williams; 69 for three in the 17th over.

Again wickets fell in pairs, as Remembrance Nyathi hit the first ball he faced for four, but was run out by Makoni for six.

At 77 for four the match appeared to be in the balance, but Thursday’s heroic pair of Campbell and Nyasha Mayavo were still to come.

They were soon needed, as with the score on 95 in the 22nd over Masvaure was bowled by Jongwe for 35, bringing the two together again.

Campbell was soon showing confidence and aggression, and the next two deliveries he faced after the wicket were a four, off Jongwe, and a six, off Thamsanqa Nunu.

But there was to be no repetition of history, as Mayavo scored just five runs before he was caught at the wicket off Ndlovu – their partnership this time round could manage only 20 runs.

Ndlovu now found himself on a roll, as in his next over he had Mumba caught for one and then bowled Gwandu without scoring – he actually took three wickets in four balls, just missing a hat-trick.

There was a faint chance that Brandon Mavuta, at No 10, would be able to put in a stand with Campbell, but when he was caught by Ervine off Masuku for nine, with the score now 134 for nine wickets, all Rhinos’ hopes were extinguished.

Not another run was scored, and when Williams caught the last man Davis Murwendo off Masuku the match was over, another big defeat for Rhinos.

Campbell was left not out with 30 runs, scored off 33 balls with a six and two fours.

Ndlovu’s three wickets in four balls had been the final twist in the match and his final figures were three for 13, while Masuku also took three and Jongwe two.

These two teams occupy the bottom two places on the Pro50 Championship table, Tuskers with 30 points and Rhinos with seven.

2021/22 PRO50 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS TABLE