Eagles thrash Tuskers as Mountaineers suffer first Fifty50 defeat

Tuskers Women – 86 all out in 23.5 overs (Chiedza Dhururu 39, Ellen Tshuma 16, Saidi Thuba 5*; Precious Marange 4/9, Mitchel Mavhunga 3/18, Christabel Chatonzwa 1/5)

Eagles Women – 87-2 in 21.3 overs (Modester Mupachikwa 50*, Precious Marange 11*, Christabel Chatonzwa 6; Nomvelo Sibanda 2/43)

Eagles Women won by eight wickets

Modester Mupachikwa scored an unbeaten 50 as she led Eagles Women to an eight-wicket victory over Tuskers Women in a Fifty50 Challenge match at Kwekwe Sports Club on Saturday.

The half-century helped Eagles chase down a modest target of 87 in just 21.3 overs. Tuskers won the toss elected to bat but were bowled out for 86 in 23.5 overs. Wicket-keeper Chiedza Dhururu at the top of the order was the highest scorer with 39 coming off 41 balls.

Her opening partner Regai Matongo did not find much success as she was the first wicket to fall, bowled by Leanne Chibunhe for three.

Dhururu then anchored a 29-run second-wicket partnership with Nomvelo Sibanda. Off the bat she scored 21 while Sibanda contributed two. Sibanda then departed, the first of Precious Marange’s scalps, bowled.

The next four partnerships were minor as wickets fell regularly.

Dhururu was the sixth wicket to fall with the team’s score on 59, also bowled by Marange.

Ellen Tshuma then combined with Anita Chisirimunhu for a seventh-wicket partnership of 22.

When Christabel Chatonzwa trapped Tshuma leg before for 16 there was not much else left as the last few wickets registered five runs from Saidi Thuba.

Marange was lethal as well as miserly, as she took four wickets, conceding nine runs.

Mitchel Mavhunga had three wickets and allowed 18 runs, while Chatonzwa had one for five and Chibunhe one for 27.

Enter the Mupachikwa show.

The innings looked in trouble when Chatonzwa was removed by Sibanda with Tasmeen Granger completing the catch.

At that point, the score was on 16. Kellies Ndlovu followed soon after, a second victim for Sibanda. The score was on 22. A 65-run partnership followed with Marange scoring an unbeaten 11. Mupachikwa’s effort was where all the boundaries off the bat in the innings, seven of them in fact, came from. Sibanda was the only one to take wickets with two at the expense of 43 runs.

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Rhinos Women – 128 all out in 41.4 overs (Josephine Nkomo 44, Ashley Ndiraya 37, Mary-Anne 5; Loryn Phiri 3/20, Francesca Chipare 3/30, Rumbidzai Nire 1/3)

Mountaineers Women – 85 all out in 29.4 overs (Loryn Phiri 12, Rumbidzai Nire 11, Francesca Chipare 11; Josephine Nkomo 4/15, Ashley Ndiraya 2/13, Nomatter Mutasa 2/26)

Rhinos Women won by 43 runs

Mountaineers Women’s unbeaten start to the Fifty50 Challenge came to an end as they lost to Rhinos Women by 43 runs at Takashinga Sports Club on Saturday.

Chasing a target of 129, they were bowled out for 85 in 29.4 overs.

Their innings never really got going as their highest scorer got 12 with only two other batswomen getting into double figures.

Rhinos captain Josephine Nkomo with four wickets, conceding just 15 from eight overs, kept pressure on the Eastern Highlands side.

Loryn Phiri’s 12 off 39 balls, Rumbidzai Nire with 11 off 23 and Francesca Chipare’s 11 off 21 provided the little resistance that existed.

The worry for Mountaineers, who led the table going into this match, is that eight of their batters were either out bowled or trapped leg before.

Other bowlers to take wickets were Ashley Ndiraya with two for 13 runs, Nomatter Mutasa with two for 26 and Rebecca Chikomborero one for 21.

Earlier, Nkomo scored an unbeaten 44 after Rhinos had been put in.

Her innings was critical to putting up the score as she held up one end as wickets fell on the other.

This was built on a healthy second-wicket partnership of 48 between Ashley Ndiraya and Bongani Munyanyi.

This came after Mary-Anne Musonda departed for five inside three overs.

Ndiraya was bowled by Phiri and Munyanyi was run out in the next over by a combination of Nyasha Gwanzura and Pinky Mashonganyika for two.

While none of the other batters scored more than three runs after that, Nkomo skilfully made sure of little partnerships while facing a lot of the ball herself, adding 74 to the total before Rhinos were bowled out for 128 in 41.4 overs.

Phiri picked three for 20 and Chipare three for 30.

Nire had one for three, Mugeri-Tirapano one for 21 and Audrey Mazvishaya one for 28. – Z.C