Delivering a memorable performance at the big stage, young Zimbabwean seamer Tinashe Muchawaya helped Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers lift the Zim Afro T10 title at the Harare Sports Club on Sunday (29 September, 2024). The Tigers were staring at defeat against the Cape Town Samp Army in the final, before Muchawaya turned it around in the last four deliveries to extract a five-run victory. (More Cricket News)
Chasing a 130-run target, Cape Town could only muster 124 runs for the loss of two wickets as Muchawaya conceded just three runs off the last four balls.
The Tigers, asked to bat first, were off the blocks at a good pace. Openers Kusal Perera and Mohammad Shahzad took the attack to the Cape Town bowlers, and were finding the boundaries with relative ease.
The two openers raced away to a half-century stand, adding 59 in less than four overs, before the Sri Lankan departed for 33 from 11 balls when Qais Ahmed trapped him LBW. The big-hitting Shahzad, who scored a match-winning half-century in Qualifier 1, was still in the middle and now had Hazratullah Zazai, who walked in at one-drop, for company. At the five-over mark, the Tigers were cruising along at 60/1.
Qais bowled a tight second over after that as the Tigers slowed down a tad bit, before Shahzad and Zazai started to up the ante against Salman Irshad in the seventh over, which produced 18 runs. Amir Hotak then had Zazai caught at cow corner for 19, and that brought to the middle, the crowd favourite and Tigers captain Sikandar Raza.
Three consecutive wides by Tawanda Maposa in the ninth over brought up the 100 for the Tigers, and then a bit of miscommunication between the batters resulted in Shahzad being run out for 44. After that, Raza smashed a couple of huge sixes to get himself going, as the Tigers got 21 runs from the ninth over.
In the final over, looking to accelerate against Nicholson Gordon, Karim Janat departed for 4, as he was caught at long off, and George Linde (0) followed suit off the very next ball. Tashinga Musekiwa smashed his first ball over the ropes for a six after that, as the Tigers finished with 129/5 in 10 overs.
In response, the in-form Brian Bennett picked off 12 runs of Adam Milne’s first over, while Luke Wood took the second over, and that gave the Samp Army nine more runs. Dawid Malan and Bennett were coming into the final on the back of some good form and were looking assured in the middle.
Malan was up against Muchawaya next, and he decided to go through the gears, which proved costly for the Tigers as three maximums and a couple of fours made it a 27-run over for the Samp Army.
Malan and Bennett continued to control the momentum of the innings, and at the half-way stage, the Samp Army were at 66/0 and cruising along. The right-handed Bennett then took the attack to Raza in the next over, as the Samp Army hurtled along to 79/0 in 6. At this point, to win, the Samp Army needed 51 from the final four overs, and they had all 10 wickets in hand.
In the next over, the Tigers struck as Adam Milne first sent Bennett’s (36) stumps cartwheeling and then had Rohan Mustafa caught at extra cover for a duck. The New Zealander kept things quiet for the rest of the over, after which Janat conceded 10.
Malan was nearing his fifty at this point, and the Samp Army needed 35 to win from the last couple of overs, in what was turning out to be a closely contested game.
Malan got to his fifty in the next over with a drive through point, and then started to bring out his full range of shots. In the final over, the Samp Army needed 21 to win with eight wickets in the bag.
And that’s when Muchawaya took charge. The youngster was smashed for a couple of sixes off the first two deliveries of the over by Jack Taylor, but he bounced back in fantastic fashion and tied up the batters to take the Tigers to a five-run win.
Brief Scores
Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers: 129/5 (M Shahzad 44, K Perera 33, N Gordon 2/10, Amir Hotak 1/14) won by five runs against Cape Town Samp Army: 124/2 in 10 overs (D Malan 62 not out, Brian Bennett 36, Adam Milne 2/18, K Janat 0/21)
