daniel chigunwe
Don Makanyanga
Sports Reporter
Fireworks are expected today as the battle for the final berth of a blistering National Premier League T20 Blast cricket tournament takes centre stage when four sides clash at the Harare Sports Club.
Takashinga 1, Takashinga 2, Gladiators and Uprising will battle it out for the two final slots of this year’s edition of the NPL T20 Blast.
And battle lines have been drawn ahead of the two matches lined up for today which will see Takashinga 2 taking on Gladiators in the qualifier match set for 1400hrs while Takashinga 1 face Uprising in an eliminator match.
The eliminator match will be played under floodlights starting 1800hrs.
Having missed out on the NPL to their compatriots, Takashinga 1 , Takashinga 2 skipper Kudzai Maunze said that his charges are ready for the qualifier match as they target the NPL T20 Blast trophy.
Maunze is confident of his charges going all the way to book a place in the finals scheduled for Saturday at Harare Sports Club.
“It is always a big game when we play against the Gladiators.
“We are just looking at doing our things right and we will be set for the final.
“It is quite an important game for us and we are looking forward to winning and book a place in the final .“We missed out on the last time and we have had chat with the boys that the game is won on the final ball hence we will fight till the last ball ,” said Maunze
Still smarting from the painful miss of the NPL title, Gladiators will be hoping to find solace in the NPL T20 Blast after being dethroned from the pole position in the NPL on the last day.
“We have done our homework going into the qualifier match against Takashinga 1 taking some lessons from the last tournament where we lost out on the final day.
“We are not going to miss it this time, everyone is determined and is looking forward to the match tomorrow (today),” said Gladiators captain Ashley Mufandauya.
The winner of the Qualifier will automatically book a place in the final while the loser will have a second chance to secure a place in the final against the winner between Takashinga 1 and Uprising on Friday.
Despite facing a longer route to the final, Uprisings skipper, Luke Jongwe is confident of his charges securing final berth and winning the title.
“As Uprisings what we are promising the fans is that we are going to try our best to win the cup since we missed out on the NPL title. “We are going to deliver,” said Jongwe
Takashinga 1 will be hoping to continue with their fine run as they eye double.
“As Takashinga we have the momentum within our side all we need is to continue with the momentum and see what happens and we are ready and determined to seal a place in the final and win the trophy,” said Takashinga 1 captain, Roy Kaia.
Online Reporter