Samp Army, Qalandars neck and neck as Zim Afro T10 battle hots up

Regis Chakabva batted through the Harare Hurricanes innings to score 44 not out off 22 balls and made the winning hit against Durban Qalandars with two balls in hand in Sunday’s first Zim Afro T10 match at Harare Sports Club.

The Qalandars batted on winning the toss and lost two early wickets to Mohammad Nabi from Afghanistan.

However, the New Zealander Tim Seifert batted through the innings for 71 not out off 31 balls, which included six sixes and four fours.

Nick Welch gave the innings the final impetus with 22 not out off nine balls to take the final score to 126 for three wickets.

Nabi had the fine bowling figures of two for nine in his two overs.

The Hurricanes also lost two quick wickets, but some brilliant hitting by the Indian Irfan Pathan (37 off 14 balls) put them ahead of the clock while Chakabva steered them home.

Harare Hurricanes won by five wickets 

Durban Qalandars – 126-3 in 10 overs (Tim Seifert 71*, Nick Welch 22*, Asif Ali 18; Mohammad Nabi 2/9, Samit Patel 1/17) 

Harare Hurricanes – 127-5 in 9.4 overs (Regis Chakabva 44*, Irfan Pathan 37, Mohammad Nabi 19; Mohammad Amir 2/23, Tendai Chatara 1/17, George Linde 1/23)

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Johannesburg Buffaloes – 96-5 in 10 overs (Mohammed Hafeez 23, Mudshfiqur Rahim 16, Yusuf Pathan 15; Karim Janat 2/25, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 1/17, Peter Hatzoglou 1/18)

Cape Town Samp Army – 97-3 in 7.4 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 54, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 35, Matthew Breetzke 1*; Noor Ahmad 2/26) 

Cape Town Samp Army won by seven wickets

A dazzling innings of 54 off only 24 balls from Tadiwanashe Marumani led the way for an easy seven-wicket victory for Cape Town Samp Army over Johannesburg Buffaloes in the second Zim Afro T10 match at Harare Sports Club on Sunday.

Put in to bat, the Buffaloes suffered from the problem of losing early wickets, four going down for 42.

Their captain, the Pakistani Mohammad Hafeez, tried to rally his team with a good 23, but they could only muster a score of 95 for five wickets in their 10 overs.

Marumani soon made light of this in an opening partnership of 86 in six overs and a ball with Rahmanullah Gurbaz of Afghanistan, and when he was caught his team was certain of victory.

Another nine balls, though costing two wickets, saw the Samp Army home with two overs and two balls in hand.

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Durban Qalandars – 122-6 in 10 overs (Tim Seifert 44, Andre Fletcher 34, Hazratullah Zazai 21; Tymal Mills 2/24, Sikandar Raza 1/18, Patrick Dooley 1/27)

Bulawayo Braves – 97-7 in 10 overs (Ashton Turner 32, Patrick Dooley 11*, Sikandar Raza 11; Brad Evans 3/20, Tendai Chatara 2/19, Mohammad Amir 1/14)

Durban Qalandars won by 25 runs

Brad Evans played a major role in the Durban Qalandars’ 25-run victory over Bulawayo Braves in the last Zim Afro T10 match of the day at Harare Sports Club.

When the Qalandars batted first, Tim Seifert’s 44 off 14 balls assured them of a good score, and with André Fletcher of the West Indies backing him up with 34 off 15, the total reached 122 for six.

The Braves failed to get off to a good start in their reply, and after Evans in his two overs took their first three wickets at a personal cost of 20 runs, the task was almost impossible.

When Sikandar Raza was out for 11 to Tendai Chatara, who took two wickets in four balls, the Braves were doomed and limped to 97 for seven after their 20 overs, despite 32 from the Australian Ashton Turner.

ZIM AFRO T10 POINTS TABLE