Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
TUSKERS’ difficult Domestic T20 campaign slid further off course on Saturday night as they went down by 29 runs under the DLS method to Southern Rocks at Harare Sports Club.
It’s , another result that underlined their early struggles.
It was a third defeat in four matches for Tuskers, who remain rooted to the bottom of the five team standings with a solitary point, picked up from an abandoned match against Eagles at the same venue earlier in the week.
For Southern Rocks, still unbeaten at the time, captain Roy Kaia again set the tone with a calm, controlled 68 that anchored an innings built on patience rather than risk.
The match opened with a clear contrast in form and confidence. Rocks arrived with momentum. Tuskers were still hunting their first win. That gap showed almost immediately.
Put in to bat, Rocks were handed early impetus by opener Lennox Chando, who struck the ball sweetly from the first over. He surged to 36 from just 18 balls, carving eight fours during the powerplay, before becoming the second wicket to fall with the score on 48 in the sixth over.
When the third wicket went down at 50, Kaia joined his cousin Innocent, and the pair settled the innings with a measured 47 run stand spread over eight overs. Innocent contributed 16 before departing, leaving the responsibility firmly with the skipper.
Roy Kaia stayed in control to the end, pacing his innings before falling in the final over, bowled by Tinotenda Maposa, for a well crafted 68 from 48 balls.
His knock included four sixes and four fours. Rocks closed on 145 for six, with Maposa and Ernest Masuku collecting two wickets each.
Tuskers’ chase unravelled early and never truly recovered. They stumbled to 16 for four inside five overs, with Owen Muzondo striking twice in the third over when only seven runs were on the board, putting the pursuit in immediate trouble.
Milton Shumba and Clive Madande briefly offered resistance, adding 28 runs before Shumba edged behind off Kaia for 21 from 19 balls. Luke Jongwe managed just one, and with Tuskers 45 for five after nine overs, play was halted briefly due to a technical issue with one of the floodlights.
When play resumed, the equation worsened. A revised target of 119 from 14 overs left Tuskers needing 74 from the final five. Any faint hopes were quickly snuffed out as Jalat Khan removed Jongwe (3) and Maposa (2) in the same over, reducing Tuskers to 52 for seven in the 11th.
Madande fought on, top scoring with a determined 34 from 26 balls, while Masuku added late support with an unbeaten 13 from nine deliveries. It was not enough. Tuskers closed on 89 for eight, sealing a 29 run defeat under DLS.
Muzondo finished with three for 20 to lead the Rocks attack, while Jalat Khan and Roy Kaia returned figures of two wickets for eight runs apiece.
