dyton mupawaenda
Zimpapers Sports Hub
The Lady Chevrons made history by becoming the first team to win cricket gold at the African Games after beating South Africa in dramatic fashion yesterday.
Zimbabwe beat South Africa by two wickets in a Super Over at the Achimota Senior Secondary School A Field in Accra, Ghana yesterday.
The Lady Chevrons collected the country’s second gold medal of the games in a dramatic and scintillating final
In a match pitting two of the biggest African cricketing nations at the tournament, it was the Lady Chevrons who prevailed but not before looking down and out of the match for huge chunks of the encounter.
Put in to bat first, the Walter Chawaguta-coached side came out the blocks guns blazing as the top-order put up 83 runs for three wickets inside the first 12 overs with the pair of wicketkeeper/batter Modester Mupachikwa and young Kelis Ndhlovu menacing.
Brought together after opener Sharne Mayers (10) was caught off the bowling of Leah James early on, Mupachikwa and Ndlovu put together a 49-run off 28-balls second-wicket partnership that gave Zimbabwe the perfect start.
The two looked fairly comfortable as they navigated the powerplay overs, playing cautiously and punishing the bad balls as and when they came.
Mupachikwa- fresh off making her own piece of history when she became the first Lady Chevrons player to reach T20 1000 runs- continued her fine run of form and top-scored for Zimbabwe with 31 runs off 49 balls.
The 27-year-old’s innings included three boundaries, while Ndhlovu chipped in with 28 runs off 27 balls which also included three boundaries.
Unfortunately, the fall of their wickets signalled a spiral of sorts for the champions as the Lady Chevrons went from a projected score in the excess of 145 to a paltry 112 for five.
Ndlovu’s wicket was the first to fall when she was trapped leg-before-wicket by Nondumiso Shangase in the 12th over.
Mupachikwa did not last long as she lost her wicket three overs later when she was caught by Seshnie Naidu off the bowling of Gandhi Jafta to leave Zimbabwe still within a chance at 83 for four.
Pellagia Mujaji’s unbeaten 20 runs off 17 balls helped Zimbabwe to 112 runs for five during their allotted 20 overs.
With 113 runs set as the target, the ‘Golden Girls’ only hope for victory lay in bowling out South Africa.
However, South Africa took the game to their neighbours with Miane Smit’s 31 runs off 32 balls leading the charge.
Wickets fell at regular intervals around Smit with Player-of-the-Match Kelis Ndhlovu taking two for 21 runs while the quartet of Precious Marange, Josephine Nkomo, Loreen Tshuma and Francisa Chipare taking one wicket apiece for Zimbabwe.
However, it would be Chipare who would prove decisive, right at the death, with Zimbabwe starring at the jaws of defeat.
Smit’s unbeaten 31 runs innings had helped navigate South Africa’s innings with the Lady Proteas getting into the final over needing just six runs off the final six balls to win the match and the gold medal.
Jafta and Smit took singles off the first five balls of Chipare’s over before the unthinkable then happened.
With the scores tied at 112 runs, Smit failed to make contact with Chipare’s full-of-a-length ball and set off for the match-winning run.
Unfortunately, the ball did not go far and landed safely into the hands of Zimbabwe’s wicketkeeper Mupachikwa who then effected the run-out of Gandhi (7) to set up the Super Over.
After a brief celebration by the Zimbabwe Lady Chevrons, Chawaguta entrusted the over to Chipare yet again.
And, the 25-year-old seamer bowler did not disappoint. Chipare got a wicket off the very first ball of the Super Over as she clean-bowled opener Annerie Dercken.
It only got worse for South Africa as they lost their second and last wicket when, this time, Smit was run out by Josephine Nkomo and Chipare with only two runs on the board.
This gave Zimbabwe the easy target of three runs from six balls to win the match.
And, Ndhlovu did not waste time as she swung for the boundary and winning runs off the second ball and ended the match.
Online Reporter