Eagles – 163-3 in 20 overs (Chamu Chibhabha 73*, Wessly Madhevere 35, Regis Chakabva 23; Travor Mutsamba 1/13, William Mashinge 1/15, Blessing Muzarabani 1/27). Southern Rocks – 163-7 in 20 overs (Tadiwanashe Marumani 52, Cephas Zhuwao 50, William Mashinge 25; Tapiwa Mufudza 3/26, Richard Ngarava 1/18,. Tanaka Chivanga 1/38). Match tied (Eagles won the one-over eliminator)

Eagles paceman Tanaka Chivanga was the hero of a sensational and unexpected tied finish at Old Hararians Sports Club this Wednesday, in a Domestic T20 Competition match that had looked certain to end in a victory for Southern Rocks.

Chivanga was given the final over to bowl, with Rocks needing three runs to win with six wickets in hand – he conceded just two runs, took one wicket and there were two run-outs, one of them single-handedly by himself.

Rocks won the toss and put Eagles in to bat. Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and Chamu Chibhabha appeared to be making a good start for Eagles, but in the fourth over Kamunhukamwe skyed an attempted drive off Blessing Muzarabani to mid-off and was out for 11; 19 for one.

Wessly Madhevere cut the second ball he faced for four, but play was quiet for a while against some good bowling, until he hit the inexperienced leg-spinner Privilege Chesa for three successive fours.

Madhevere played very well for 35 off 23 balls, including seven fours, before he ended it with a poor stroke, a wild swing across the line to be bowled by a good ball from Travor Mutsamba; 75 for two in the 10th over.

With Regis Chakabva in, Chibhabha, who had been playing a steady innings, now decided to put the economical Roy Kaia in his place, hitting him for a six and four off successive balls.

Chakabva showed his usual good form in scoring 23 off 16 balls before he was caught at the wicket off William Mashinge when trying to scoop a ball to leg; 122 for three wickets after 15 overs.

Chibhabha meanwhile reached his fifty off 41 balls, but more good bowling made it difficult for him and Elton Chigumbura to move the score as quickly as they wanted.

The final total was 163 for three, with Chibhabha having scored 73 off 60 balls and Chigumbura 12 off 11. Only two singles and three leg-byes came off the final over, from Muzarabani, and 41 off the last five overs, by two experienced attacking international batsmen, a rather disappointing return for them.

Only three wickets fell, shared among three bowlers, so Eagles would have expected to score more runs – Mutsamba with one for 13 off three overs had the best figures.

When Rocks began their chase, Richard Ngarava bowled to Brian Mudzinganyama, who drove his second ball through the covers for four, but played the third on to his wicket.

Tadiwanashe Marumani joined Cephas Zhuwao at the crease, and the two of them went on the attack, making the best advantage of the powerplay overs and hitting four boundaries each in the first four overs.

In the fifth over Zhuwao stepped up the rate with two more fours and a six off Madhevere, and the score was 63 for one off five overs. This was the sort of start — or finish — Eagles had needed, but been unable to obtain, to their cost.

The Eagles bowlers began to tighten up, cutting off most of the boundaries, but Zhuwao was still able to complete his fifty off only 28 balls. One ball later, though, he was caught by Brad Evans off Tapiwa Mufudza for exactly 50, having hit seven fours and two sixes; Rocks were 95 for two in the 10th over. Strangely, exactly the same happened to Marumani: he hit a four to reach 52 off 35 balls, and was also caught by Evans off Mufudza next ball!

Two balls later, Tafadzwa Tsiga was caught and bowled by Mufudza without scoring, making the score 116 for four in the 12th over. Roy Kaia and William Mashinge now had to consolidate, but with seven overs left they were not under great pressure. They wisely decided on steady play, keeping the score ticking over with well-placed singles and hitting the occasional four when the opportunity came.

It did look a little tight towards the end, with 20 needed off the last three overs, but Mashinge took nine runs off four balls from Evans, and only three were needed off the last over. It seemed there would be no problem for Rocks, but fortune still had an unexpected hand to play.

It was given to Chivanga, who had bowled three overs for 36 runs and no wicket, and with his first delivery Kaia tried to glance the ball to leg and was out lbw for a very valuable 22, ending a partnership of 45; 161 for five. Tendai Chisoro twice swung and missed before scoring a single, leaving two to win off two balls.

Mashinge attempted a single to a mishit down the pitch, but Chivanga was quick enough to field it and throw the stumps down at the bowler’s end to run him out, with two still needed off the final delivery. Chisoro faced the final delivery, played it out to midwicket, the batsmen took a single to tie, but, going for the second, Evans made a good throw and Chisoro was run out by a couple of metres to make the match a tie.

Earlier on, the bowling of Mufudza, with his three wickets for 26 runs, had turned the match, although that was not evident until the thrilling climax. Perhaps shattered by throwing away a second match in two days, Rocks lost the super-over eliminator.

Zhuwao and Marumani went in to bat, while Chivanga was given another opportunity with the ball — and he didn’t waste it. The two hitters could manage only six runs between them, and lost a wicket to a run-out. Chakabva faced Muzarabani when the positions were reversed, and he did the job with a two off the second ball and a six off the third.

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Tuskers – 206-5 in 20 overs (Craig Ervine 120*, Bright Phiri 32, Milton Shumba 17; Donald Tiripano 2/46, Tendai Chatara 1/36, Shingi Masakadza 1/41). Mountaineers – 143 all out in 19.5 overs (Kevin Kasuza 46, Tendai Chatara 17*, Donald Tiripano 17; Luke Jongwe 2/16, Ainsley Ndlovu 2/17, Sean Williams 1/12). Tuskers won by 63 runs

Craig Ervine played a brilliant innings of 120 not out for Tuskers against Mountaineers at Old Hararians Sports Club this afternoon. This took his team to the huge score of 206 for five wickets, which Mountaineers were quite unable to match, going down eventually by 63 runs.

Tuskers decided to bat on winning the toss, and Brian Chari scored 10 runs off the opening over, from Tendai Chatara, while his partner Bright Phiri hit two fours off Victor Nyauchi. They scored freely until the fourth over, when Chari (13) skyed a drive into the off-side field, leaving with the score at 26 for one.

Phiri and Ervine put on 41 together at a good rate until Phiri drove over a yorker from Shingi Masakadza and was bowled for 32 off 26 balls. Sean Williams was out second ball, flicking at a ball from Donald Tiripano outside his off stump and edging a catch to the keeper; 72 for three in the ninth over.

Ervine and Luke Jongwe then flourished together, running well without trying to slog boundaries, although Ervine was so fluent that he reached his fifty off 29 balls with a six off Brighton Chipungu.

They took the score to 128 before Jongwe suddenly took a wild swing across the line to a good ball from Chatara and was bowled for 14. Ervine was playing one of his finest T20 innings, with Milton Shumba now his partner, and the bowlers could not contain him.

Two fours in the 19th over off Shingi Masakadza took him to 96. Tiripano bowled the final over, and off the first ball Shumba was run out going for a third run, giving Ervine the strike.

Ervine finished the innings magnificently, lashing a four past point to reach his first T20 century, and then hitting six, four, six and four to finish on 120. He faced only 54 balls, hit five sixes and 12 fours, and took Tuskers to the highest total of the tournament, 206 for five wickets.

Despite the last-over slaughter, Tiripano finished with the best bowling figures of two for 46, but none of the bowlers could contain Ervine today. For Mountaineers to have the slightest hope of reaching their massive target they needed to attack from the first ball, but they lost Dion Myers (1) in the first over, playing on to Ainsley Ndlovu as he stepped back to try to force the ball away.

Tony Munyonga came in next, but was bowled for six in Ndlovu’s next over; 14 for two. Gary Chirimuuta, eager to steal a bye, ran himself out for two, making the score 20 for three in the fourth over.

Kevin Kasuza was still there, though, playing a fine innings, and he hit Tanatswa Bechani for two sixes off successive balls, but he needed a lasting partner. Kudzai Sauramba was the next to go, bowled for seven slogging at Jongwe; 57 for four in the seventh over.

At 64 Wellington Masakadza (2) was caught off Thabo Mboyi, making a half-hearted drive, but this brother Shingi hit the second ball he faced, from Shumba, for six over long-on.

Off the last ball of the over, though, came disaster, as the batsmen ran a quick single and Kasuza tripped over his bat and was run out for a fine fighting 46, scored off 27 balls. Williams trapped Shingi lbw for eight with the next delivery, and Mountaineers were beyond hope at 74 for seven in the 10th over, after a gallant but forlorn effort.

The rest of the innings could be nothing more than a damage limitation exercise; Tiripano made 17, Nyauchi 15, while the last pair had a bit of fun in adding 32 together for the last wicket — Chipungu 16, Chatara 17 not out — before the last wicket fell to the penultimate possible delivery at 143.

Ndlovu and Jongwe took two wickets each, for 17 and 16 respectively, and Tuskers won by 63 runs.

2020/21 DOMESTIC T20 COMPETITION POINTS TABLE