Thanks to a remarkable performance from their captain, Sikandar Raza, the Bulawayo Braves thrashed the Harare Hurricanes in the Zim Afro T10 curtain-raiser. Eoin Morgan called the toss and elected to bat first for the Braves. It was a very spectacular showdown from Sikandar Raza, who blasted to a 30-ball-61 to drive Bulawayo to 128/9 at the conclusion of 10 overs despite losing their openers early. Nandre Burger and Tinotenda Maposa each secured a few wickets, and Brandon Mavuta secured three for Harare.
The Braves took the lead after a strong start from the star-studded pace combo of Tasking Ahmed and Tymal Mills, which caused the Hurricanes, who were chasing 129, to collapse. The Hurricanes’ vain attempts to get back in the game were put to an end by Sikandar Raza, the captain, who made a late surge and took three key wickets. Raza won the Player of the Match award for his excellent 60 and his 3-for-12 bowling performance, which nearly single-handedly carried his team to victory.
In the second game, the Durban Qalandars put on yet another outstanding batting display, as two of their openers completely destroyed the bowlers of the Cape Town Samp Army. With knocks of 38 (25) and 49 (22) respectively, Hazratullah Zazai and Tim Seifert ignited the audience. From their ten overs, the Qalandars were able to score 126/3 thanks to Asif Ali’s late flourish. The top two performers for Samp Army were Mujeeb ur Rehman and Tom Curran, with scores of 1/11 and 1/12, respectively.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz did start off brilliantly in an exciting chase, but things for Cape Town took an inevitable turn as they lost wickets quickly. A remarkable partnership between Karim Jannat and Parthiv Patel, who scored 66 runs for the 6th wicket while Samp Army was teetering at 52/5, helped the team reach a tough showdown but ultimately fell short by 8 runs.
Chasing 106, the Bulawayo Braves were in trouble right away as the Buffaloes ran roughshod over their batting order. Mohammad Hafeez put on an incredible performance, scoring a six-for, and Wellington Masakadza put on an equally impressive performance, scoring a three-for to help the Joburg Buffaloes secure their first victory of the competition. The Braves’ lone fighter in the second innings, Beau Webster, fashioned an important 39-run undefeated knock under pressure.
Watch Live Matches on Kheloyar
