MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE
Mashonaland Eagles began their Domestic T20 championship on a winning note after beating Mountaineers by seven wickets in the first match of the competition at the Harare Sports Club yesterday.
Zimbabwe cricket is looking to use the domestic competition to fine-tune for the upcoming Pakistan visit, which is scheduled to begin with a three-match T20i series on April 21.
Captained by the national team skipper Chamu Chibhabha, Eagles were set on the path to victory by the bowlers led by fast bowler Brad Evans, who took three wickets for 28 runs to restrict the opponents to a low 105 total.
Spinners Wesley Madhevere and Tapiwa Mufudza grabbed two wickets apiece while Richard Ngarava and Tanaka Chivanga contributed one wicket each.
Only four batters at the top in the Mountaineers side managed double figures with Gary Chirimuuta top scoring with 32 runs followed by Dion Myers (24) and opener Joylord Gumbie managed 18.
The other opener Tinashe Chiora managed 10 runs.
Mountaineers captain Wellington Masakadza won the toss and elected to bat first, but things did not go according to plan as they eventually set Eagles a target of 106 to win.
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In the run chase Madhevere scored an unbeaten 45 to propel Eagles to the finish line with 10 balls to spare.
However, openers Chibhabha (17) and Tinashe Kamunhukamwe (24) had already done most of the damage after sharing a 40-run stand before Kamunhukamwe was sent to the pavilion by Victor Nyauchi.
Chibhabha fell to Brighton Chipungu with the team on 63 and Regis Chakabva was the last batsman to go for Eagles after he was caught and bowled by Chipungu.
Madhevere and Tinashe Nenhunzi saw the game off in comfortable fashion.
Chipungu was the peak of the bowlers for Mountaineers returning figures of two for 13 in his allotted four overs while national team players Masakadza, Donald Tiripano and Tendai Chatara, who is returning from injury toiled for nought.
The T20 tournament will end on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has stepped preparations for the tour of Zimbabwe where they will play three T20is and two Test matches after their Test cricketers tested negative for Covid-19 and began training yesterday in a bio-secure bubble, in Lahore.
The Harare-bound Test players include Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Imran Butt, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani , Tabish Khan and Zahid Mahmood
The Test players’ camp will run under a bio-secure environment from April 10 to April 20 before the 11 players depart for Harare on April 21 to join other members of the side.
Pakistan selectors have also invited six additional players, who will participate in the training camp for the Test players.
Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sameen Gul, Irfan Ullah Shah, Taj Wali and Waqas Maqsood make up the six players.
The camp will be held under the supervision of National High Performance coaches, including Saqlain Mushtaq (head of player development), Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach), Umer Rasheed (fast bowling coach) and Atiq-uz-Zaman (wicketkeeping/fielding coach) and Javed Sheikh (Strength & Conditioning Coach).
Pakistan will play two Tests against Zimbabwe from April 29 to May 3 and May 7 to 11 in Harare.
