A brilliant innings of 73 off 37 balls by Tadiwanashe Marumani propelled Rangers to a six-wicket victory over Chiredzi in their National Premier League (NPL) match at Masvingo Sports Club on Sunday.
Chiredzi, batting first, struggled to 132 all out, after being 89 for nine.
First man Blessed Muzite and last man Tawananyasha Kasondo both scored 32, while Wallace Mubayiwa and Ethan Cunningham both took three wickets.
With Marumani opening the batting and hitting two sixes and 10 fours, Rangers swept to victory in only 17 overs.
Chiredzi – 132 all out in 34.2 overs (Tawananyasha Kasondo 32, Blessed Muzite 32, Gabriel Jaya 23*; Ethan Cunningham 3/8, Wallace Mubayiwa 3/30, Benjamin Banks 1/22)
Rangers – 133-4 in 17 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 71, Sean Bennett 22*, Nick Welch 18; Tendai Masunda 1/14, Tawananyasha Kasondo 1/15, Nkosilathi Nungu 1/18)
Rangers won by six wickets
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Gladiators – 158 all out in 33.4 overs (Leeroy Chiwaula 36, Kohl Eksteen 27*, Ashley Mufandauya 22; Brandon Senzere 2/15, Daichi Nyandoro 2/25, Shelton Mazvitorera 2/50)
Takashinga Patriots 2 – 156 all out in 27.3 overs (Tanunurwa Makoni 44, Daichi Nyandoro 34, Marshall Takodza 34; Owen Muzondo 4/27, Phase Mukabeta 3/31, Kohl Eksteen 2/48)
Gladiators won by two runs
Gladiators held their nerve to clinch a dramatic two-run win over Takashinga Patriots 2 at Old Hararians Sports Club on Sunday, thanks to a match-turning spell from Owen Muzondo.
Batting first, Gladiators were dismissed for 158 in 33.4 overs, with Leeroy Chiwaula (36) top-scoring.
For Takashinga, Brandon Senzere, Daichi Nyandoro and Shelton Mazvitorera picked up two wickets apiece.
Chasing what appeared a modest target, Takashinga were cruising at 117 for six after solid knocks from Tanunurwa Makoni (44) and Marshall Takodza (34).
But Phase Mukabeta, who claimed three for 31, triggered a middle-order collapse before captain Nyandoro mounted a heroic counterattack, blasting 34 off 22 balls to bring his side within touching distance.
At 156, just three runs from victory, Muzondo struck twice in three balls to dismiss Nyandoro and the last man, sealing an unforgettable win for Gladiators.
Muzondo finished with four wickets for 27 runs.
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Westside – 79 all out in 23.5 overs (Frank Mazviita 17, Malachi Harry 16, Michael Maposa 9; Graeme Cremer 5/13, Samuel Muyambo 3/13, Antum Naqvi 2/33)
Takashinga Patriots 1 – 81-1 in 6.5 overs (Innocent Kaia 38*, Joylord Gumbie 26, Tafadzwa Tsiga 11*)
Takashinga Patriots 1 won by nine wickets
Graeme Cremer took five cheap wickets for 13 runs for Takashinga Patriots 1 as they wrapped up their NPL match against Westside, played at Masvingo Sports Club on Saturday, before lunch.
Samuel Muyambo took the first three wickets to fall for 13 runs as Westside batted first.
After a brief recovery, Cremer dashed out the tail, taking the last five wickets as Westside were bundled out for 79.
Takashinga took only 6.5 overs to chase down this target, with Joylord Gumbie scoring 26 off 17 balls before being run out, and Innocent Kaia a brilliant unbeaten 38 off just 16 balls.
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Alexandra – 104 all out in 25.2 overs (Aliakbar Hamid 26, Takunda Manyama 18, Ahsan Aqil Ali 16; Tawanda Maposa 4/33, Talent Dzikiti 3/5, Tinotenda Maposa 3/22)
Amakhosi 1 – 106-4 in 16.2 overs (Tawanda Maposa 30, Brian Chari 24*, Thamsanqa Nunu 18; Victor Nyauchi 2/39, Zubair Khan 2/47)
Amakhosi 1 won by six wickets
Amakhosi 1 cruised to a six-wicket win over Alexandra at Kwekwe Sports Club on Saturday, thanks to a disciplined bowling display from the Maposa brothers.
Alex were bundled out for 104 in 25.2 overs, with only opener Aliakbar Hamid (26) offering resistance.
Tawanda Maposa led the bowling attack with four for 33, while his brother Tinotenda and Talent Dzikiti claimed two wickets apiece.
In reply, Amakhosi overcame the loss of two early wickets to reach 106 for four in 16.2 overs.
Tawanda Maposa chipped in with 30 before Brian Chari (24 not out) steered them comfortably home.
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Eastern Titans – 101 all out in 34.3 overs (Prosper Mugeri 28, Tendai Chatara 24, Takudzwa Nyamugure 10; Hendricks Macheke 4/25, Isaac Okpe 2/12, Ronald Masocha 1/15)
Mbizo – 103-5 in 17.4 overs (Clive Madziyo 21*, Isaac Okpe 18*, Kevin Kasuza 17; Tatenda Mupunga 2/24, Prosper Mugeri 2/35, Definate Mawadzi 1/14)
Mbizo won by five wickets
Eastern Titans slumped to a five-wicket defeat against Mbizo after another top-order failure left them with too little to defend at Old Hararians Sports Club on Saturday.
Batting first, Titans collapsed to 58 for eight, with Hendricks Macheke leading the charge to finish with four wickets for 25 runs.
A ninth-wicket stand of 41 between Prosper Mugeri (28) and Tendai Chatara (24) lifted them to 101 all out.
Mbizo stuttered in their reply, slipping to 70 for five, but Clive Madziyo (21 not out) and Isaac Okpe (18 not out) steadied the ship to guide their side to 103 for five in 17.4 overs.
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Queens Sports Club – 208 all out in 41.4 overs (Petros Sithole 65, Dananai Rangayi 45, Nkosana Mpofu 25; Cedric Dube 6/31, Sean Phiri 1/21, Luyanda Mtomba 1/39)
Amakhosi 2 – 118 all out in 40.1 overs (Farai Gunda 30, Cedric Dube 14, Tinashe Mujuru 14; Chris Mpofu 3/19, Tanatswa Bechani 3/32, Vusi Kasipani 2/9)
Queens Sports Club won by 90 runs
Despite a remarkable six-wicket haul by Cedric Dube, Amakhosi 2 went down to Queens Sports Club on the Bulawayo Athletic Club ground by 90 runs.
Queens, batting first, were in trouble at 89 for six, with Dube’s four wickets at this point having brought about a middle-order collapse.
But Dube, while finishing with six for 31, could not bowl all the time, and Petros Sithole led a Queens revival with 65, helping the final total to 208 all out.
Amakhosi were never in the hunt – apart from opener Farai Gunda with 30, the other top six batters scored 21 runs among them, three of them falling to the pace of Chris Mpofu.
A little resistance from the tail could only take their total to 118 all out.
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Methane Lions – 291-8 in 45 overs (Bright Njanji 42, Huzefa Ali 40, Ashwell Karuma 40; Davis Murwendo 2/49, Nyasha Dube 2/54, Tanyaradzwa Banda 1/21)
Rimuka – 266 all out in 43.4 overs (Tashinga Musekiwa 111, Davis Murwendo 27, Nyasha Dube 18*; Allen Mhuka 4/49, Stanley Joe 1/10, Tatenda Utumbe 1/23)
Methane Lions won by 25 runs
A superb innings of 111 from Tashinga Musekiwa was not enough to take Rimuka to victory over Methane Lions at Kadoma Sports Club on Saturday, as they went down by 25 runs in a well-fought and high-scoring NPL game.
Lions, going in first, scored with remarkable consistency, the first four batters being the four top scorers: Huzefa Ali and Ashwell Karuma both made 40, Bright Njanji 42 and Jimmy Ngangoni 37.
The eventual total was a daunting 291 for eight wickets.
Rimuka made a bad start with their first three wickets going down for 37.
Then Musekiwa came along with his brilliant 111, scored off only 79 balls and containing six sixes and six fours.
But he had too little support from the others and Rimuka were dismissed for 266.
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