Harare(PNP)
It was an action-packed Sunday at the Harare Sports Club as Colin Munro and Rassie van der Dussen both scored delightful half-centuries to help the Durban Wolves and the NYS Lagos register comprehensive wins. And after that, the day was rounded up by a well-contested thriller involving the Cape Town Samp Army, who saw off the Bulawayo Brave Jaguars by 3 wickets. The NYS Lagos finished the day at the top of the table with 2 wins out of 2.
In the opening game of the day, the Harare Bolts batted first, and they had some solid contributions from Sean Williams (35) and George Munsey (37), and Jimmy Neesham (11*) to get their total upto 99 for 3 in their 10 overs.
The Durban Wolves bowled brilliantly with Dawlat Zadran finishing with figures of 2/12, and Mohammad Irfan returning with figures of 1/11, in their overs.
In response, the Wolves lost Sharjeel Khan off the first ball, but after that it was the Colin Munro show. The experienced New Zealander scored 58 not out from 29 deliveries, hitting five boundaries and four sixes. He was ably supported by Will Smeed (13) and Mark Chapman (12*) along with Regis Chakabva (10), as they chased down the total with 4 deliveries to go.
After that, the NYS Lagos took up the responsibility of entertaining the crowd, as Rassie van der Dussen scored his second consecutive fifty of the tournament. The South African opened the batting and scored at a brisk pace from the get-go. Van der Dussen smashed an unbeaten 81 from 32 balls, which included 8 maximums and four boundaries. Along with him, Avishka Fernando and Najibullah Zadran added 20 each, as they posted an impressive 133/2.
In response, the Jo’Burg Bangla Tigers could not really get going in their chase, even though the likes of Hazratullah Zazai (18), Sikandar Raza (6) and Charith Asalanka (17) tried their best. For the NYS Lagos side, Bodugum Akhilesh Reddy bagged a 3-fer and Thisara Perera picked two wickets as they won by 16 runs.
The final game produced a cracking contest, as the Bulawayo Brave Jaguars played the Cape Town Samp Army in a low scoring thriller. The Jaguars were restricted to 83/6 in their overs with Kobe Herft scoring 38 and Nick Hobson adding another unbeaten 21.
For the Cape Town Samp Army side, David Willey (3/13) and Amir Hamza (2/11) were the pick of the bowlers. In the chase, the Samp Army had the likes of Brian Bennett (20) and Rohan Mustafa (19) to thank as they won the contest despite some fantastic bowling from the Jaguars.
While Wesley Madhavere picked a 3-fer, Akila Dananjaya and Richard Ngarava both finished with 2 wickets each, it wasn’t enough as Qais Ahmad smashed a six over long off to wrap it up with more than an over to go and three wickets in hand.