27 Aug 2014

Tladi sealed their qualification to the final of Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) 50-Overs Regional Tournament after producing a ruthless batting performance in the first innings to stroll to an emphatic 105 runs victory over Ditlhase.

Their win at the Cricket Oval on August 24 put the Gaborone-based team in a strong position to win the month long competition in the southern region, which is contested by four teams.

They now lead the standings with four points after winning two of their three round-robin matches. Ditlhase, who were succumbing to their first defeat, have slipped to second position with two wins from three matches.

That means the last group stage match between third place Shining Stars and bottom team Southern Rocks will decide which team between Ditlhase and Stars join Tladi in the final on 14 September.

Tladi batted first on Sunday and applied supreme batting in the first innings, reaching the 200 runs mark after 33 overs with just four wickets lost. Imran Khan (86 runs), Imran Pathan (69 runs) and Shahzaib Khan (54 runs) contributed significantly as the Tladi batsmen dominated the the opposition bowlers.

Ditlhase’s cause was also not helped by questionable fielding from their players as Tladi finished their innings with 314 runs for the loss of eight wickets.

Ditlhase’s chase got off to a good start as they reached the 100 runs mark within the first ten overs, though they lost two wickets in the first seven overs.
Zain Abbasi was bowled out by Imran Khan and Alaap Shah was bowled out by Nabil Master.

Master was the best bowler for Tladi after claiming four wickets.

Though Ditlhase continued to rake in more runs which made the huge target of 314 runs reachable, their chase eventually faded when they lost six wickets in quick succession between the 24 and 31st overs as the Tladi bowlers strengthened their grip on the match.

Karabo Modise was bowled out by Mansoor Hussein in the 24th-over and Afzal Patel followed in the 26th-over after being bowled out by Master.

Sooraj Nair, Asim Siddiqui, Ali Malek Gohar, and Jatin Patel were also dismissed in quick succession as Ditlhase’s chase came to a halt after 34 overs with just 209 runs made. Ends