FORGOTTEN Zimbabwe national team opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe’s double hundred helped Takashinga 2 massacre Wadzanai by 319 runs in a National Premier League (NPL) play-off played at Bindura Country Club on Sunday.
Takashinga 2 Cricket Club’s mammoth total of 468-8 was built around Kamunhukamwe’s 204 and Dion Myers’ unbeaten 122.
It was a run-fest after Wadzanai Cricket Club captain Keith David put in Takashinga.
Sometimes you felt sorry for the bowlers as there was little or no room for error as the Takashinga batters went after the inexperienced home team bowlers on a belter of a wicket.
It was a Kamumhukamwe show as the powerfully built batsman mixed timing and brutal force, clearing the boundary at will.
He was cautious initially, scoring 10 runs from 11 balls and then teed off from there, getting to his 50 from just 27 balls.
Munashe Zata was hit for four boundaries in the 7th over.
Kamumhukamwe took another 27 balls to get to his hundred, hitting Tafadzwa Maringapasi for a big six over long-off on his way to three figures.
He was not done yet, as he upped the ante to 153 from 81 balls.
He saved the best for last as his subsequent 50 runs came from just 19 balls and a double century in the process.
After Kamunhukamwe perished for 204 from 103 balls, there was no respite for the Wadzanai bowlers as Myers took over the show with his unbeaten 122 from 82 balls. The knock included 11 fours and four maximums powering Takashinga 2 to 468 runs, the highest score in club cricket this season.
Maringapasi was the pick of the Wadzanai bowlers, with three wickets for 54 runs in eight overs.
Myers came back to haunt the Wadzanai batters after he bowled Dennis Limited and Lennox Chando, putting the hosts on the back foot in the run chase.
Wadzanai opener Clive Madziyo fought a lone battle to try and bring some respectability to the scorecard with a gallant knock of 56 from 85 balls as he was the final wicket to fall in the 39th over.
Zimbabwe Under-19 national team hopeful Ryan Simbi was the pick of Takashinga bowlers with figures of four for 43 in nine overs as he bamboozled the Wadzanai batsmen.
Takashinga 2, Mutare Sports Club, Bulawayo Athletic Club, Golden Bulls and Kadoma Cricket Club have qualified for the lucrative NPL after the weekend play-offs played around the country.
Zimbabwe Cricket gave top clubs from Associate Provinces a chance to stake a claim in the expanded NPL by playing the last best-placed teams from the major Provinces as they spread and improve the quality of club cricket around the country.
