Mountaineers – 197 all out in 45 overs (Kevin Kasuza 70, Shingi Masakadza 26, Victor Nyauchi 26; Brandon Mavuta 6/43, Mike Chinouya 3/41, Tashinga Musekiwa 1/34)
Rhinos – 198-6 in 45.5 overs (Charles Kunje 62, Johnathan Campbell 54, Takudzwanashe Kaitano 38; Vincent Masekesa 4/31, Donald Tiripano 1/34, Victor Nyauchi 1/35)
Rhinos won by four wickets
A brilliant spell of leg-spin bowling from Brandon Mavuta broke the back of the Mountaineers innings in a Pro50 Championship match at Kwekwe Sports Club on Sunday, resulting in a fine victory for Rhinos by four wickets after the first meeting between the sides on Friday had finished as a tie.
Rhinos put Mountaineers in to bat on winning the toss and at first it did not seem to have worked out well for them.
Clive Chitumba opened the batting with Kevin Kasuza and the pair put on a brisk 32 in seven overs before Mike Chinouya took the first wicket, having Chitumba caught by Mavuta at midwicket off a mishit for 12.
There followed the best batting of the innings, as Kasuza quite dominated the bowling.
PJ Moor played a useful supporting role, scoring 17 of a partnership of 54 before being well caught by Takudzwanashe Kaitano at point off Tashinga Musekiwa – 86 for two in the 21st over.
Then Mavuta wreaked havoc in the middle order, taking five wickets in six overs, including those of Timycen Maruma and Donald Tiripano, both without scoring.
When he had Kasuza caught at the wicket for a superb 70, scored off 98 balls with a six and six fours, Mountaineers had slumped to 131 for seven wickets after 32 overs.
Shingi Masakadza tried to repair the damage with some big hitting, scoring 26 off 18 balls, including two successive sixes off Johnathan Campbell, before he became Mavuta’s sixth victim, slicing a cut to be caught by Chinouya.
Mavuta now had the remarkable figures of six for 20 off seven overs, but now he seemed to lose his magic, as Victor Nyauchi and Vincent Masekesa hit out fearlessly, spoiling his figures so that he finished with six for 43 off 10 overs.
The pair added an invaluable 49 in 11 overs before Chinouya returned and produced two good straight balls to bowl out Nyauchi and the last man, Fortune Mhlanga, with successive deliveries.
Nyauchi made 26 and Masekesa 23 not out off only 25 balls, the final total being 197 off 45 overs.
While Mavuta was the outstanding bowler, Chinouya finished with three wickets for 41 in eight overs.
In reply Rhinos lost their captain, Prince Masvaure, for six, caught by Maruma at second slip off a swinging ball from Nyauchi – 29 for one.
His partner, Kaitano, was hitting the ball well, but Charles Kunje batted even better, and the pair took the score to exactly 100 before the next wicket fell, Kaitano being stumped off Masekesa for 38, scored off 49 balls.
Briefly, Mountaineers had a ray of hope, as Masekesa also took a wicket in both his next two overs, to dismiss Tarisai Musakanda for nine and Nyasha Mayavo for three, both caught by the wicket-keeper Spencer Magodo, making the score 108 for four.
But Campbell stopped the rot with Kunje, and they took the score to 148 before Kunje was fifth out, another caught at the wicket, for a fine 62 off 88 balls – he hit a six and six fours.
Mountaineers fought back with another wicket, as Neville Madziva became Magodo’s fifth victim of the innings, stumped off Masekesa for six.
With the score now 165 for six, Mountaineers were very much in the game still, but Campbell played with a cool head and Musekiwa was quite up to the task as he came in next.
In just five more overs the pair had polished off the remaining runs and taken Rhinos home to a good victory with four overs and a ball to spare.
Campbell made 54 not out off 78 balls with five fours, while Musekiwa made 12 not out off 10.
Masekesa was much the best bowler with his leg-breaks, taking four wickets for 31 runs in his 10 overs.
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Tuskers – 278-9 in 50 overs (Shane Getkate 120, Brian Chari 67, Tanatswa Bechani 38; Tendai Chisoro 2/37, Cuthbert Musoko 2/37, Sydney Murombo 2/38)
Southern Rocks – 274 all out in 48.4 overs (Brian Mudzinganyama 62, Cephas Zhuwao 35, Tafadzwa Tsiga 34; Nkosana Mpofu 5/47, Tanatswa Bechani 1/27, Charlton Tshuma 1/31)
Tuskers won by four runs
A brilliant century from Irish international batter Shane Getkate enabled Tuskers to extend their winning record to four matches out of four in the Pro50 Championship at Bulawayo Athletic Club on Sunday.
Southern Rocks put up a spirited fight, but in an exciting finish the home side again triumphed, this time by the narrow margin of four runs.
Tuskers chose to bat on winning the toss, and no doubt soon wondered if they had made a serious mistake.
Inside four overs they had lost their top three batters for just 16 runs – Tanu Makoni scored 14 of them, while Nkosana Mpofu went for one and Taffy Mupariwa without scoring, these two dismissed in three balls by Cuthbert Musoko.
But then came the partnership that saved their innings, as Getkate joined Brian Chari at the wicket and the pair turned things around.
In only 26 overs the pair so dominated the bowling that they put on 152 runs for the fourth wicket before Chari was caught in the deep off a lofted drive by Cephas Zhuwao, the bowler being Dylan Hondo.
Getkate swept past his century while wickets fell at the other end.
When he was finally dismissed, lbw to Tendai Chisoro at 235 for eight in the 45th over, he had scored 120 runs off 116 balls, and hit a six and 16 fours.
Tanatswa Bechani at number nine took over the final few overs and hit up a valuable 38 before being out two balls from the end.
Tuskers finished on 278 for nine wickets, with two wickets each for Musoko, Sydney Murombo, Chisoro and Hondo.
Mudzinganyama was in brilliant form as he unleashed a series of dazzling strokes against the pace bowling of Masuku and Charlton Tshuma to get Rocks off to a flying start.
After five overs Mudzinganyama, although having twice as much of the bowling, was on 25 and Zhuwao six.
Then both batters hit Tshuma for two fours in the next over, and the partnership continued at a fine pace until Zhuwao drove a catch to long-on at the end of the 10th over.
He had scored 35 off 29 balls, while Mudzinganyama now had 44 off 32, the total being 87.
It was never quite so good again, as Ben Curran was run out for one and Richmond Mutumbami, after hitting Ainsley Ndlovu for two sixes and a four off successive deliveries, was bowled for 22.
Mudzinganyama was bowled sweeping at Mpofu for 62 off 54 balls, and the score was 135 for four in 17 overs.
Then the innings became rather bogged down and the run rate declined.
Chisoro did well to score 24 off 15 balls, but Tafadzwa Tsiga struggled for runs, and eventually took 57 balls to make 34.
When he went, much depended on William Mashinge, as in his previous match, but he too struggled to get the score moving.
When he was finally bowled by Mpofu, he had scored 31 off 53 balls – the score was 231 for eight in the 40th over and, with all the recognised batters now gone, so were Rocks’ reasonable hopes.
Yet when nine wickets had fallen for 238, the last two men, Musoko and Murombo, stood up to the bowling and batted with great spirit.
Hitting the ball well, they took the score past 270 but, just as Rocks were daring to believe again, Musekiwa had Murombo caught at the wicket for 17 and the match was over.
The total was 274, with Musoko not out with 16, and there were eight deliveries to spare.
Mpofu, until this season noted mainly for his qualities as an opening batter, was the most successful bowler with five wickets for 47 runs with his off-breaks, the first time he has taken more than three wickets in an innings at provincial level.
2022/23 PRO50 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS TABLE
| TEAM | M | W | L | T | N/R | PT | NRR |
| Tuskers | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 0.701 |
| Rhinos | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0.078 |
| Rocks | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | -0.421 |
| Mountaineers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -0.204 |
| Eagles | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.580 |
