Zim Afro T10 2023: How did the international players fare in Bulawayo Braves vs Harare Hurricanes Match 1?

Following the postponement of the inaugural match of the tournament, the first edition of the Zim Afro T10 2023 finally got underway on Friday, July 21. The tournament opener featured a bombastic clash between Bulawayo Braves and Harare Hurricanes at the Harare Sports Club.

Bulawayo Braves blasted their way to a daunting total of 128 in 10 overs thanks to an electrifying contribution from Sikandar Raza. He scored a blistering knock of 61 (30) and took the Hurricanes bowlers to the cleaners.

Harare Hurricanes got off to a disastrous start with the bat as they lost half their side for just 47 runs on the board. Sikandar Raza was once again in business, but this time with the ball, returning with figures of 3/12. He was well supported by Taskin Ahmed and Tymal Mills who bowled brilliantly with the new ball push Hurricanes on the backfoot.

In the end, the Hurricanes could only scrap their way to 79 in their allotted overs and Bulawayo Braves won that game handsomely by a massive margin of 49 runs.

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Ben McDermott (BB)

McDermott looked to be in fine flow with the bat and raced his way to 18 in just 11 balls before perishing to Jongwe. His innings featured two fours and a six at a strike rate of 163.64. Unfortunately, he was dismissed in the third over of the match and could not push on for a big score.

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Sikandar Raza (BB)

Raza stole the spotlight with his brilliant all-round performance. He made a lightning cameo of 61 (30) at an astronomically high strike rate of 203.3. He was smashing it to all parts and amassed four fours and five sixes.

Raza later delivered with the ball as well to pick up 3/12 at just 6 RPO to squeeze the life out of Harare Hurricanes.

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Ashton Turner (BB)

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Turner could only hit one solitary boundary in his very short innings which came to an end in the space of three balls. He could only score five runs and was dismissed by Maposa in the fourth over of the game.

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Ryan Burl (BB)

Ryan certainly wouldn’t have cherished the day one bit as he was dismissed for a golden duck by Tinotenda Maposa in the fourth over of the game.

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Thisara Perera (BB)

Perera proved to be highly ineffective with the bat and the ball. He could only scavenge four runs off two balls before being dismissed cheaply by Brandon Mavuta at the halfway stage. Perera could only bowl one over in the match which cost him 14 runs.

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Taskin Ahmed (BB)

Taskin had a minor role to play with the bat scoring 4 (3) which included one boundary. But his main contribution came with the ball as the Bangladeshi speedster claimed impressive figures of 1/7 in his allotted two overs without conceding any boundaries.

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Tymal Mills (BB)

Mills was dismissed by Nandre Burger for a golden duck but that did not deter him as he bowled a tight spell of 2/12 while going at 6 RPO. He got the ball to shape around and troubled the batters a lot which ultimately led to the downfalls of Donavon Ferreira and Mohammad Nabi.

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Robin Uthappa (HH)

The former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman departed without troubling the scorers. His stay lasted only for four balls as he was removed by a beautiful delivery bowled by Taskin Ahmed during the first over of the second innings.

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Eoin Morgan (HH)

The skipper was looking to break from the shackles but departed after scoring seven (6). He scored a solitary boundary in his innings and was eventually picked up by Tanaka Chivanga in the fifth over of the match triggering a mini-collapse.

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Mohammad Nabi (HH)

Nabi played a gritty innings of 22 (14) to hold off the Bulawayo onslaught. His innings featured one four and one six apiece. He eventually ran out of gas in the sixth over of the game when he was dismissed by Tymal Mills.

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Samit Patel (HH)

Samit scored a paltry score of 3 (5) as he struggled to get his feet going amidst a higher required run rate. He was removed by Patrick Dooley in the seventh over of the second innings.

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Irfan Pathan (HH)

Former Indian pacer cum all-rounder Irfan Pathan played a short-lived cameo of 15 (7) which came at a commendable strike rate of 214.29. He was castled by Raza in the eighth over of the second innings.

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Luke Jongwe (HH)

Luke notched up a breathtaking knock of 20 (10) before going down. He was eventually run out by Patrick Dooley in the 10th over. Besides this, his two overs went for 22 while he did manage to pick up a wicket of Ben McDermott.

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Chris Mpofu (HH)

Mpofu did not get a chance to bat but played his part with the ball. However, he was not entirely effective as his allotted two overs cost him 19 runs while his wickets column ran dry.