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JOBURG Bangla Tigers have been crowned the 2024 Zim Afro T10 champions after they defeated Cape Town Samp Army off the very last delivery by just five runs in a thrilling final at Harare Sports Club last night.
Samp Army won the toss and put Tigers in to bat.
Kusal Perera led the way, scoring 33 off 11 balls, with four sixes and a four, in an opening partnership of 59 in only 3.4 overs with Mohammad Shahzad.
Shahzad went on to make 44 off 25 balls, but after the score reached 97 in the eighth over wickets fell quickly in the search for quick runs, and the momentum was lost.
The innings ended at 129 for five, with Sikandar Raza not out with 12, having had too little time to make much of a mark on the innings.
Gordon Nicholson took two wickets for 10 runs in the final over, but overall Amir Hotak did well with one for 14 in his two overs.
Samp Army also made a very good start, although Brian Bennett and Dawid Malan were never quite able to match the feat of their opponents’ opening pair.
They put on 83 before the New Zealander Adam Milne returned to bowl the seventh over, which changed the course of the match, the over itself costing only six runs.
With his second ball he bowled out Bennett, who made 36 off 21 balls, and with his fourth he had Rohan Mustafa caught without scoring.
Jack Taylor joined Malan, and they hit well, but found themselves needing 21 runs to win off the final over, to be bowled by Tinashe Muchawaya, whose first over had cost 27 runs.
Taylor began with two sixes and a single, but Muchawaya kept his head and Malan for once couldn’t rise to the occasion, missing the fourth delivery and only getting a leg-bye off the fifth.
Taylor needed to hit a six off the final delivery to equal the scores and force a super over, but he could only get the ball away for a single, and the match and the tournament belonged to the Tigers.
Scoreboard
Joburg Bangla Tigers: 129-5 in 10 overs (Mohammad Shahzad 44, Kusal Perera 33, Hazratullah Zazai 19; Nicholson Gordon 2/10, Amir Hotak 1/14, Qais Ahmed 1/24)
Cape Town Samp Army: 124-2 in 10 overs (Dawid Malan 62*, Brian Bennett 36, Jack Taylor 23*; Adam Milne 2/18) —Zim Cricket
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