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

Expected to be one of the most riveting tournaments of the year, the Zim Afro T10, organised by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) in association with T Ten Global Sports, will hold its player draft on 2 July.

Ahead of that, the five franchises involved in the new league have announced their pre-draft marquee players.

The five teams that will battle it out for top honours are Harare Hurricanes, Joburg Buffaloes, Durban Qalandars, Bulawayo Braves and Cape Town Samp Army.

The inaugural edition will commence on 20 July, with a grand finale scheduled for 29 July.

All the games in the tournament will be played in Harare.

Each squad needs to have a minimum of 16 players including at least six Zimbabwean players, out of which one local player will be selected from the emerging player category during a nationwide talent hunt.

Ahead of the draft, the franchises can have a maximum of four top internationals as their pre-signed players – these four would be selected and announced before the start of the draft.

The following is the list of the top internationals pre-signed by each team:

HARARE HURRICANES

• Eoin Morgan
• Evin Lewis
• Shahnawaz Dahani
• Robin Uthappa

CAPE TOWN SAMP ARMY

• Bhanuka Rajapaksa
• Karim Janat
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz
• Maheesh Theekshana

DURBAN QALANDARS

• Asif Ali
• Sisanda Magala
• George Linde
• Hazratullah Zazai

JOBURG BUFFALOES

• Yusuf Pathan
• Mushfiqur Rehman
• Tom Banton
• Noor Ahmed

BULAWAYO BRAVES

• Sikandar Raza
• Ashton Turner
• Tymal Mills
• Ben McDermott

ZC Managing Director Mr Givemore Makoni said: “We are in the final stages ahead of the Zim Afro T10’s inaugural edition. This gives me immense joy because to see this play out in reality has been a dream for all of the Zimbabwean cricket family as it is a watershed moment in the history of the sport in the country. The fans, I am sure, are keenly waiting for the opening day.”

T Ten Global Sports Founder and Chairman Mr Nawab Shaji Ul Mulk said: “To bring the T10 to Zimbabwe has been high on the agenda for us in the recent past, and that we are on the home stretch ahead of the inaugural edition of the tournament is a source of great satisfaction for me.

This is a red-letter day in the history of the sport – there will be another landmark on the day of the player draft. We can’t wait to get things rolling and welcome the best of the best players to Harare.”