REGIS Chakabva got Harare Hurricanes campaign back on track with an unbeaten 44 in a five-wicket against Durban Qalandars, their first tournament victory on the third attempt.
The Zimbabwe wicketkeeper batter was ably supported by Irfan Pathan with 37, and Mohammad Nabi’s 19 as Harare Hurricanes scored 127/5 with two balls to spare, chasing Qalandars’ 126/3.
Tim Seifert notched an unbeaten 71 with Nick Welch, albeit in a losing cause.
In the second match played on Sunday, on-fire batsman Tadiwanashe Marumani scored a half-century, 54, as Cape Town Samp Army beat Joburg Buffaloes by seven wickets with 14 balls remaining.
Man of the match, Marumani entertained the crowd with his gusty 24-ball innings and said he looks forward to upping the tempo as the games reach boiling point.
“I am enjoying myself at the crease at the moment. It’s good to add some runs on the board and help the team achieve the desired result,” said Marumani.
“Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully, I keep scoring runs, and we keep winning. That’s my duty as a batsman.”
Rahmanullah Gurbaz weighed 35 as the Army made light work of the Buffaloes, posting 97/3 in 7.4 overs. Joburg Buffaloes batted first and found the going tough, scoring 96/5 in their allotted overs. Mohammad Hafeez scored 23 while Mushfiqur Rahim and Yusuf Pathan added 15 and 16 runs, respectively.
In the day’s final match, Zimbabwe seamer Brad Evans turned on the screws for Durban Qalandars with three wickets for 20 runs in their 25-run win against Bulawayo Braves.
After batting first, Durban Qalandars’ Seifert was caught at the boundary for a well-played 44 runs off just 14 deliveries to aid his team to 122/6 in 10 overs. Andre Fletcher and Hazratullah Zazai chipped in with 34 and 21 runs, respectively.
Evans then dented Bulawayo Braves’ chase with three wickets getting support from fellow Chevrons pacer Tendai Chatara with two wickets for 19 runs. Ashton Turner top scored for Bulawayo Braves with 32 runs, Patrick Dooley was unbeaten on 11, and Sikandar Raza (11) were second best as they ended their run chase on 97/7.
Meanwhile, Cape Town Samp Army lead the five-team log standings with six points from four matches, the same number of points as second-placed Durban Qalandars but have a superior net run rate. Bulawayo Braves are in third with two points from four matches, while Joburg Buffaloes and Harare Hurricanes are on two points but have played less than one match.
