TAKASHINGA 1 lost to Old Hararians 1 by one wicket off the final ball of a dramatic NPL T20 Blast match at Takashinga Cricket Club on Monday afternoon.
Old Hararians won the toss and chose to field. Takashinga posted 162/6 in their 20 overs and the visitors reached the target with their last pair at the crease.
Ronak Patel led the batting with a fine 59 off 37 balls, hitting three fours and three sixes. He shared a 62-run second-wicket stand with Gerald Olipa (25 off 24), which carried the hosts to 86/1 after nine overs.
Olipa was bowled by Ahsan Aqil Ali at 86. Patel and Samuel Muyambo then fell in the space of four balls, leaving Takashinga at 107/4. Captain Roy Kaia (27 off 25) and Hamilton Masakadza (11) kept the innings moving. Tashinga Makoni (11* off 8) and wicketkeeper Alvin Chiradza (8* off 5) then added 23 unbroken runs at the end.
Ahsan Aqil Ali was Old Hararians' best bowler, returning 3/19 from his four overs. Ainsley Ndlovu took 2/26.
Takashinga's bowlers fought back hard. Ryan Simbi produced an outstanding spell of 4/25 from four overs, which included a maiden. His three wickets in the 16th over, without a run conceded, reduced Old Hararians from 120/4 to 120/7. Simbi removed the dangerous Ahsan Aqil Ali for 43, Muhammad Zaheer Tufail for a first-ball duck and Natsai Mushangwe for 0. Substitute fielder Tanyaradzwa Kagumba took two of those catches.
Shelton Mazvitorera then trapped Luke Jongwe (28 off 14) lbw to make it 129/8. He also took a return catch to remove Ndlovu at 156/9 in the final over. Muyambo (4-0-19-1) and Tapiwa Mufudza (1/35) also bowled their full quotas.
Alex Falao kept Old Hararians in the chase with 24 not out off 13 balls. He and Wallace Mubayiwa (3*) found the last seven runs off the final five balls.
The result is a painful one, but the team showed plenty of character to drag the match to the last ball. Simbi's spell was one of the best by a Takashinga bowler this season.
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