Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO’S Amakhosi face an epic battle to keep their slim hopes of landing a cricket silverware when they take on wounded National Premier League (NPL) table-toppers Takashinga of Harare in what should be a blockbuster at Kwekwe Sports Club today.
Takashinga, with a better net run rate are joint leaders with MidWest having accumulated 50 points each, play their final game of the season against Amakhosi needing a victory to hang on to the top as they will be on a bye in the final round of games.
MidWest are inactive today, but will play their last match of the NPL at the weekend against log anchors Great Zimbabwe.
With 32 points and two games to go, including today’s encounter against Takashinga whose four-match winning streak was brought to a halt by Gladiators last weekend to keep their title race alive, Amakhosi captain Ainsley Ndlovu feels they can mathematically “steal” the title if they win the remaining games and the top two lose their matches.
Amakhosi take on Gladiators on the final day of the league.
“Anything is possible. I back the team to do it (win remaining two games) because the confidence in our camp is high,” said Ndlovu.
Amakhosi head into the Takashinga game bubbling with confidence after recovering from two successive defeats, winning their last encounter against Easterns by six wickets.
“We only had one option as a team, to bounce back or we out of the competition. We realised we had let ourselves down with the last two loses and it was good to see young Bright Phiri putting his hand up and batting well and expressing himself. Also, our bowlers put in their hands up to restrict them (Easterners) to only 169.
“Now we face Takashinga who are coming from a defeat. Our team has gained confidence. From now onwards it’s all about consistence and with confidence high, anything is possible. We just have to make sure we tick all our boxes in Kwekwe,” said Ndlovu.
Spinner John Nyumbu, Ndlovu, Charlton Tshuma, Ernest Masuku and seasoned players in the form of Thabo Mboyi and Cunningham Ncube are expected to play a pivotal role as Amakhosi seeks to shock Takashinga.
Fixtures
Today: Takashinga v Amakhosi (Kwekwe Sports Club), Queens Sports Club v Easterns (Masvingo Sports Club), Gladiators v Harare Kings (Harare Sports Club), Great Zimbabwe v Rainbow (Old Hararians Sports Club) — @ZililoR
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