Chronicle Editor
Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
TUSKERS were left stunned after Rhinos defeated the Bulawayo-based side by 50 runs in their last round-robin match of the 2022/23 Pro50 Championship season at Bulawayo Athletic Club yesterday.
In a match that had questionable umpiring decisions, Tuskers wiped out Rhinos for 214 in 47,3 overs after electing to bowl first. They however, failed to chase it down as they were bowled out for 164 runs in 42,3 overs.
Off-spinner Nkosana Mpofu took the most wickets for Tuskers, picking up three wickets for 28 runs in his 10 overs. He was supported by the skipper, left-arm spinner Ainsley Ndlovu who took 2/24 and Alan Chigoma had 2/37.
Takudzwanaishe Kaitano top scored for the visitors with 93 runs on the board while Neville Madziva and Brandon Mavuta scored 36 runs each.
In their chase, openers, Mpofu and Tanunurwa Makoni put up a 35 runs partnership for the first wicket. Mpofu finished with 19 runs and Makoni scored 23 runs.
Seasoned campaigner, Brian Chari rediscovered his form, top scoring with 61 runs. He was supported by the captain Ndlovu who scored 34 runs before he was controversially given out leg before wicket.
The wicket of Ndlovu saw Chari running out of partners and he became the last wicket to fall.
Leg spinner Brandon Mavuta took four wickets for Rhinos.
Walter Chawaguta, the Tuskers head coach said they are disappointed with their performance as they had four opportunities to book a place in the final but failed.
“We are all very disappointed, we had four opportunities to get ourselves into the final, everything started very well when we won all four opening matches.
The coach, however, said without making excuses for players, some mistakes made on the field can prove costly to teams regarding the umpiring decisions made during the match.
“We are all human beings and we make mistakes but some of the mistakes obviously can be very costly and the players without making an excuse for them can get frustrated by some of these things.
“If a guy hits the ball and gloves the ball and gets caught by the keeper and goes on to score 80 runs, players naturally are aggrieved by that, obviously there is no excuse for them misbehaving on the field, cricket is still a gentlemen’s game, there are ways of dealing with issues,” he said.
Tuskers skipper Ndlovu was also not happy with some of the decisions made by the match officials but feels they also let themselves down as a team.
“Some of the decisions were just not right for both innings but with that being said either way we could have played better, we could have bowled better, we shouldn’t have been chasing 215 so maybe it’s a lesson for us to get the small things done properly,” said Ndlovu.
With the third and fourth-place play-off match on the cards, Ndlovu believes there is still something to play for as they aim to finish the season on a high note.
Tuskers will face rivals Alliance Health Eagles on November 5 in the play-off match while Rhinos will play against Mountaineers in the final on the same day. – @brandon_malvin
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