Online Reporter
Tinashe Kusema
Zimpapers Sports Hub
HOSTS Zimbabwe and Botswana kicked off their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers’ warm-up matches in style as the two nations registered convincing wins over Kenya and Malawi yesterday.
The Chevrons recorded a nine-wicket victory over Kenya while Botswana beat Malawi by 55 runs.
In the Zimbabwe match at Harare Sports Club, Kenya won the toss and elected to bat.
However, that decision soon backfired as the East Africans were bundled out for a paltry 96 runs with the Zimbabwe quicks doing most of the damage.
Bradley Evans was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers with three wickets for 12 runs while Richard Ngarava chipped in with two for 16 runs.
Tinotenda Maphosa and Ryan Burl finished with a wicket apiece.
There was hardly anything to write home about from Kenya’s batting as wickets fell at regular intervals while the Associate nation struggled with partnerships.
Only four batters managed to register double-digit figures, with Rakep Patel top scoring for Kenya with 24 runs off 25 balls, while the trio of opener Pushkar Sharma, Sachin Bhudia and wicketkeeper/batter Sukhdeep Singh chipped in with 10, 11 and 14 runs respectively.
Zimbabwe’s response was swift and quick as the Chevrons chased down the target inside 12 overs on their way to 100 runs for one.
The only wicket to fall for Zimbabwe was that of Tadiwanashe Marumani who was caught by Bhudia off the bowling of Lucas Oluoch Ndandason on his way to 14 runs off 15 balls.
Fellow opener Brian Bennett top scored for the Chevrons with 33 runs off 25 balls before retiring while the duo of Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams helped Zimbabwe past the finishing line.
Taylor finished unbeaten on 20 runs off 21 balls while Williams, also unbeaten, scored 21 runs off 13 balls.
At Takashinga Cricket Club, Botswana also made light work of Malawi on their way to a 50-run victory.
Malawi won the toss and elected to field after which Botswana raced to 150 runs for four during their allotted 20 overs.
Reginald Nehonde top scored for the Southern African nation with an unbeaten 62 runs off 44 balls while there were also meaningful knocks from opener Vinoo Balakrishnah (25 runs off 23 balls) and skipper Karabo Motlhanka (29 runs off 27 balls).
Kelvin Thuchila was the pick of the Malawi bowlers as he finished with two wickets for 12 runs while Mike Chaomba chipped in with one for 22 runs.
Malawi then failed to chase down the target as they were bowled out for 95 runs.
The duo of opener Aaftab Limdawala and Chaomba top scored for Malawi with 15 runs each but their entire batting line-up failed to get going as wickets fell regularly.
Tharindu Perera led from the front with three wickets for just seven runs while Katlo Piet chipped in with two for 12 runs.
Botswana and Zimbabwe will be part of the eight-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifiers, which begin on Friday, and will see the participants vying for the two remaining slots to the global showcase in India next year.
The eight teams include Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malawi, Botswana, Tanzania, Uganda and hosts Zimbabwe.
The top two sides in the tournament will join South Africa at the 2026 T20 World Cup as the Proteas have already pre-qualified as one of the top eight teams from the previous edition.
Bongani Ndlovu