NKOSILATHI Nungu achieved the comparatively rare accomplishment of taking five wickets in five overs for Scorpions against Rainbow at Masvingo Sports Club on Saturday in a National Premier League cricket match that ended in a rare tie.
This match was reduced to 25 overs per side due to a late start.
Rainbow batted first and struggled against the bowling of Nungu, losing six wickets for 72 runs in nine overs, four of them to Nungu.
Their star batter Richmond Mutumbami was out for 10.
Then came a brilliant and unexpected partnership of 123 runs in less than 16 overs between Kumbirayi Phiri, with 62 not out, and Lavert Masunda, with 56, that put Rainbow back on track again.
Masunda was out in the last ball of the 25 overs with the final score on 195 for seven.
Nungu’s five wickets cost him 37 runs.
Scorpions had to score at almost eight runs an over to win, and they made a fine effort.
Takunda Madembo kept them going, with an excellent 78 not out off 70 balls.
Nungu, with 28, proved a valuable partner as they were behind the required run rate, and added 41 runs in five overs.
Fourteen runs were needed from the final over bowled by Daniel Jakiel.
Nezbert Maringire was stumped from the first ball, but Tawana Kasondo hit the next for six and then took a leg-bye.
Madembo needed to score seven runs off the last three deliveries, but managed only six, leaving the match as a tie.
In the day’s other match, Abel Chirimuta took four wickets for 15 runs as Mbizo, bowled Bulawayo Athletic Club out for 87 at Kwekwe Sports Club on Saturday to record their second win by eight wickets.
BAC, put in to bat, lost three wickets for 18 runs before Brandon James with 29 and Kuda Kaitano with 26 fought back by adding 45 runs for the fourth wicket.
Then Chirimuta struck by trapping Kaitano lbw and after that Mbizo were unstoppable, as BAC collapsed to 87 in the 29th over.
Manson Chikowero also played his part with three wickets for 27 runs.
So confident were Mbizo that their opening batters Walter Matawu (25) and Clifford Takaedza (34) wiped off 70 of the necessary runs within nine overs, with Takudzwa Masakadza scoring 12 not out and hitting the winning run.
Mbizo’s final score was 88 for two wickets in 14.1 overs.
Brief scores:
RAINBOW – 195-7 in 25 overs (Kumbirayi Phiri 62*, Lavert Masunda 56, Tino Chiwara 31; Nkosilathi Nungu 5/37, Tatenda Murove 1/19, Jayden Schadendorf 1/45)
SCORPIONS – 195-7 in 25 overs (Takunda Madembo 78*, Jayden Schadendorf 28, Nkosilathi Nungu 28; Matthew Campbell 3/30, Daniel Jakiel 2/42, Ahsan Aqil Ali 1/31)
RESULT: Match tied
***
BULAWAYO ATHLETIC CLUB – 87 all out in 28.5 overs (Brandon James 29, Kudakwashe Kaitano 26, Thamsanqa Nunu 7; Abel Chirimuta 4/15, Manson Chikowero 3/27, Tafara Chingwara 2/10)
MBIZO – 88-2 in 14.1 overs (Clifford Takaedza 34, Walter Matawu 25, Takudzwa Masakadza 12*; Isaiah Musarirevhu 1/25)
RESULT: Mbizo won by eight wickets. – ZimCricket.