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TUSKERS registered a six wicket win in the fourth match of their T20 series against Botswana at Bulawayo Athletic Club (BAC) on Sunday afternoon to take a 3-1 lead.
It was the second day of action and the Bulawayo based side managed to come back from a defeat in the opening game of the series on Saturday morning where they lost by three runs. Two matches are played each day.
In their latest victory, the hosts successfully chased down Botswana’s 180 runs target with five balls left to spare. Tuskers restricted Botswana to 179/3 in their 20 overs before going on to chase down the target in 19, 1 overs, finishing on 180/4.
Tuskers are under the tutelage of Flemming Nkomo who was pleased with how his team has played so far. Nkomo said he is confident that if they stick to their basics, they will be able to get the job done.
“The boys have been very competitive, so far so good. They have played hard cricket. In the two days that we have played the four games, none of the games were easy, they have given us a run for our money. The boys have shown a lot of character, something which was lacking but looking at it, you could tell there was something special from most of the boys.
“These are players who haven’t been scoring much, they have been falling short on some occasions and now we are seeing scores being turned into fifties consistently. It’s a plus to us as a team. We are looking at continuing playing our hard cricket but also sticking to our processes, be it with bat or ball, that’s the most important thing,” said Nkomo.
Botswana head coach Stanley Timoni said watching his team fail to defend 180 runs was a bitter pill to swallow. However, he believes that they will be able to pose a challenge to Tuskers if they fix their bowling.
“To be honest the boys have tried their best. We posted 180 and to me it’s criminal to lose after posting 180 but it’s a learning curve. It’s a young team and they are here to learn. So far, I am happy with the positives they have shown and I do believe we are going to challenge these guys in the remaining eight games.
“We hope for the best in our upcoming games. Our bowling in the power play has been letting us down, we need to work on that and after that if we get everything right, it would be good for the team,” said Timoni.
Botswana’s skipper, Karabo Motlhanka – who won the 2022 Logan Cup with Tuskers – remained undefeated on 62 runs off 48 balls while Valentine Mbazo played another brilliant knock of 85 runs from 57 balls, helping Botswana reach a competitive total. Talent Dzikiti, Ruvimbo Mumbire and Admire Mupembe picked up one wicket apiece for Tuskers.

Tafara Mupariwa

Tafara Mupariwa led from the front with the bat for the hosts. The Tuskers opener scored 73 runs not out off 50 deliveries while Sean Phiri made 59 runs from 43 balls. Bright Phiri chipped in with 25 runs from 14 deliveries.

Action resumes on Tuesday with two matches lined up. The first match starts at 10am while the afternoon encounter is penciled in for 13.30pm. All matches are free of charge. – @brandon_malvin