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RUGARE Magarira posted his List A best bowling figures when he took a remarkable seven wickets for only 19 runs to lead the Rising Stars Academy to a resounding eight-wicket victory over Bulawayo Metropolitan Tuskers at Harare Sports Club yesterday.

Rising Stars eased to 115 for the loss of two wickets after the bowlers led by Magarira had skittled the visitors out for 114 runs. They needed 20 overs to overturn

Both teams began this match with 14 points from five matches, one point behind Manicaland Mountaineers who had a match in hand, so it was a crucial game for both.

Tuskers won the toss for the third time in a week, and this time decided to bat first after their failure to chase down a reasonable target against Harare Metropolitan Eagles on Wednesday.

Brian Chari played some brilliant strokes against the seamers, although fraught with risk, and their fifty came up in the sixth over, of which he had 29 off 15 balls.

Ncube tried to join the party, but when he had scored 15 he lunged at a wide ball from Patrick Mambo and edged in to the keeper; 53 for two.

With only a single added, from a wide, Chari lashed out at the first ball bowled by 21-year old Magarira, and was given out caught at the wicket for 29 off 17 balls, putting his team in some trouble at 54 for three.

Richmond Mutumbami was the only experienced batsman left, as he was joined at the crease by Allan Chigoma.

Mutumbami hit two rousing fours, but then tried unsuccessfully to withdraw his bat from a rising ball from Mambo and was caught at the wicket for eight, making the score 65 for four with all the top batsmen out.

Dalu Mboyi (2) was next to go, adjudged lbw to Magarira at 68 for five, a remarkable score after 10 overs of a Pro50 Championship innings, more like what might be expected from a T20 match.

Chris Mpofu now came in at number seven, a position that flatters him as he is no all-rounder, despite his fighting innings of 41 in the previous match.

This time he scored only a single before being bowled by Magarira, making the score 73 for six.

Scoring almost dried up, but when Chigoma (5) tried to break the shackles with a big hit, he skyed a catch to the fielder running in from the midwicket boundary; 81 for seven.

This worsened further when, the batsmen having crossed, Stephen Chimhamhiwa was bowled by Magarira’s next ball, the bowler at this stage having figures of five wickets for four runs.

Thabo Mboyi just survived the hat-trick ball, and then with John Nyumbu put up a belated stand against the bowlers, bringing up the hundred with a six over long-on off Magarira, badly damaging his figures.

Nyumbu (21) was caught off a miscued sweep off Magarira, making the score 114 for nine.

Magarira finished off the innings with his next delivery, as he trapped the last man Ainsley Ndlovu lbw and finished with the remarkable figures of seven for 19 off 6.5 overs.

Tinashe Kanukamwe (58) and Tafadzwa Tsiga’s unbeaten 42 runs helped the Stars coast to a comfortable win. — Zimcricket/Sports Reporter