Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Women High Performance Centre coach Steve Mangongo says there is still room for improvement from his side’s hard-fought six-run victory over Nigeria in their 2025 Kwibuka Women’s T20 Tournament opener on Tuesday.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports Hub from Rwanda, Mangongo said there are areas he feels they need to polish up going forward.
But he was pleased by how some of his players performed, helping the side get their campaign up and running in a positive fashion.
“(I’m) not happy with the way we negotiated the powerplay even though it was a slow pitch. We were timed in the powerplay, however, Loreen Tshuma’s cameo of 23 at a strike rate of 100 got us going. The 105 total was a tough ask for our bowlers to defend, however, the young sensation, Passionate Munorwei was on song,” said Mangongo.
Perhaps the quickest bowler in the tournament, she ripped through the Nigerian batting unit with good figures of 3/20.
Overall, it’s always good to start a tournament with a win, we are up and running. We are good to go.
We just need to improve on our powerplay by batting with intent,” said Mangongo.
The youthful Zimbabwe HPC side was sent in to bat first and posted 104/8 in their 20 overs. Christabel Chatonzwa top-scored, while Munorwei delivered a match-winning bowling performance to help restrict Nigeria to 98/7 in their reply.
Zimbabwe’s innings began cautiously, with the opening partnership between Chiedza Dhururu and Chatonzwa ending in the seventh over when Dhururu was bowled for 11 runs off 27 balls, leaving the side at 20/1 after 6.1 overs.
Chatonzwa then partnered with Tshuma in a steady 50-run stand for the second wicket. The momentum shifted in the 14th over when Chatonzwa, who had been anchoring the innings, was caught for a team-best 28 off 37 balls.
At 70/2, Zimbabwe looked on track for a competitive score, but a middle-order collapse followed. Tshuma contributed 23 runs from as many deliveries, while Salem Museka remained unbeaten on 11 off 11. The quartet of Chatonzwa, Tshuma, Museka, and Dhururu were the only players to reach double figures.
Nigeria’s Rachel Samson was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 3/24 in three overs. Lillian Udeh and Kehinde Amusa took two wickets each to stall Zimbabwe’s momentum.
Defending a modest total, Zimbabwe made an ideal start, reducing Nigeria to 9/2 inside three overs. Munorwei starred with the ball, taking 3/20 in her four-over spell. Captain Nomvelo Sibanda led from the front, conceding just seven runs and picking up two wickets in her four overs. Mitchel Mavunga also chipped in with 1/23.
Nigeria’s chase was anchored by Sarah Etim, who top-scored with 19 off 16 balls. Amusa added 17 off 20, while Udeh remained unbeaten on 16 from 20 deliveries, but the Zimbabwean bowlers held firm in the final overs to seal the narrow win.
The Zimbabwe Women’s HPC team are competing in this year’s tournament alongside eight national teams from Brazil, Cameroon, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Their next match is against Uganda today.
