ASHLEY DUBE
Gladiators Triumph Over Uprising in a Thrilling Encounter — In a riveting display of cricket, Tony Munyonga’s explosive century powered the Gladiators to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Uprising at the Old Hararians Sports Club. Munyonga’s blistering knock of 102 runs off a mere 45 balls, peppered with eight boundaries and seven towering sixes, proved to be an insurmountable challenge for the Uprising bowlers.
Despite being set a daunting target of 193 runs by Uprising, Munyonga’s pyrotechnics enabled the Gladiators to chase down the total with relative ease. The Gladiators, initially reeling at 47/3, witnessed a game-changing partnership of 152 runs between Munyonga and Milton Shumba, swinging the momentum in their favor.
Munyonga’s whirlwind century, now the fastest in the competition’s history, eclipsed his teammate Ashley Mufandauya’s previous record of 60 balls. The drama was heightened as he reached this milestone with just one run needed for victory.
Earlier in the match, commendable knocks from Aisha Chibanda (64 off 37 balls) and Brian Bennett (54 off 35 balls) contributed to Uprising’s competitive total of 193.
With this victory under their belt, the Gladiators are just one win away from securing their berth in the knockout stage. Their next encounter is against Rainbow on Sunday.
Takashinga Patriots 2 Clinch Victory Over Westside — In another exciting match of the National Premier League (NPL) T20 Blast, Takashinga Patriots 2 emerged victorious over Westside by a margin of 33 runs at Takashinga Sports Club on Saturday. Despite losing four early wickets for just 21 runs in 2.2 overs, Takashinga Patriots 2 managed to post a competitive total of 131/9.
Late partnerships for the eighth (33 runs), ninth (22 runs), and tenth wickets (33 runs) helped Takashinga Patriots 2 reach a respectable total. Hendricks Macheke was particularly impressive with the ball, taking crucial wickets and finishing with figures of 4-13.
Westside struggled to build partnerships in their chase, with only a 28-run stand for the sixth wicket offering some resistance. The remaining four wickets fell quickly, adding just 19 runs to their total and resulting in them being bowled out for 98.
Amakhosi stun Rainbow — In a clash between the two weakest teams in the league at Kwekwe Sports Club, Amakhosi emerged victorious over Rainbow by a margin of 12 runs.
Anakhosi's batting performance was decent, but not particularly thrilling. Nkosana Mpofu (29) and Thabo Mboyi (20) were the main contributors with the bat, while Tawanda Mhora and Ainsley Ndlovu made useful contributions. However, the fact that no one else managed to reach double figures was a disappointing aspect of their innings. Additionally, they had 19 extras.
Rainbow showed some determination but failed to score at a quick enough rate. Only two players managed to achieve a strike rate above 100. Jonathan Campbell's unbeaten score of 48 was a positive for them, but this marked their fifth consecutive loss. They eventually finished their 20 overs on 125 with six wickets still in hand.
Takashinga Patriots 1 beat Mutare Sports Club — Takashinga Patriots 1 secured a comfortable five-wicket victory over Mutare at Mutare Sports Club, thanks to the steady partnership of Brothers Hamilton and Wellington Masakadza. Led by Richard Ngarava, who finished with impressive figures of 3-6 Takashinga 1 bowled out Mutare for a low score of 106.
However, Takashinga 1 faced a slight setback when they lost four wickets and were reduced to 51 runs. The Masakadza brothers then displayed composure and resilience, adding 50 runs to the scoreboard before Hamilton was dismissed by Tendai Chatara for 33. At that point, Takashinga 1 required only five runs to win, which they achieved with more than two overs remaining. This victory keeps them in contention for the knockout stage of the tournament.
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