Tuskers – 327-7 in 88 overs (Ali Hamid 122, Milton Shumba 109, Clive Madande 33; Tendai Chatara 3/48, Salman Mirza 2/53, Victor Nyauchi 1/28)
Mega Market Mountaineers –
Day 1 – Stumps
A double-century partnership between Milton Shumba and Ali Hamid, who both scored hundreds, rescued Tuskers from deep trouble on the first day of their Logan Cup fixture against Mega Market Mountaineers at Takashinga Cricket Club in Harare on Thursday.
Put in to bat, Tuskers suffered a shocking start as they lost their first three wickets for only 12 runs, and a fourth at 37, two of them to Tendai Chatara.
Then came salvation in the fifth-wicket partnership that added 224 runs in just over four hours and changed the balance of the match completely.
Hamid was the more aggressive of the two, scoring 122 of those runs, taking 193 balls and hitting a six and 16 fours.
Shumba played a mature, steady innings of 109, facing 227 deliveries altogether, and his main strokes were 15 fours.
Before he left he was helped by Clive Madande, who replaced Hamid and went in for a hit, smashing 33 runs off only 17 balls, with two sixes and four fours.
Shumba himself was out just before the close, the third victim of Chatara, who was the only bowler to take more than one on the day.
Tuskers finished on 327 for seven wickets, the overnight batters being Luke Jongwe on 16 and Ainsley Ndlovu on seven.
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Rhinos – 299-8 in 90 overs (Bright Matsiwe 88, Takudzwanashe Kaitano 72, Ben Curran 45; Johnathan Campbell 4/62, Jalat Khan 2/41, Dom Bess 1/33)
Southern Rocks –
Day 1 – Stumps
A second-wicket partnership of 128 between Bright Matsiwe and Takudzwanashe Kaitano was the driving force behind Rhinos’ score of 299 for eight wickets on day one of their Logan Cup match against Southern Rocks at Old Hararians Sports Club in Harare on Thursady.
Rocks won the toss and decided to field, but early events went seriously against them.
Ben Curran helped Matsiwe with a brisk 45 in their opening partnership of 74, and then Kaitano came good so that the second wicket did not fall until the score had reached 202.
Then the tide began to turn, as at this point Matsiwe was out lbw to Johnathan Campbell for 88, one short of his best first-class score – his runs came off 166 balls and he hit 10 fours.
Tarisai Musakanda went for 15 and Remembrance Nyathi for 21, both victims of Campbell, while Kaitano’s innings reached 72 off 139 balls.
The top three batters all played steady rather than spectacular innings, the later batsmen came and went rather rapidly as the Rocks bowlers fought back.
A score of 202 for one wicket at one stage became 277 for eight, but a few lusty blows from Muhammad Adil in 20 not out just before the close meant that they ended the day on 299 for eight, somewhat disappointing after such a fine start.
Campbell has taken four of the eight wickets to fall to date for 63 runs.
