30 Oct 2013

Gaborone-based teams, Nkwe and Tshukudu would contest the championship match of the National 50 Overs Cricket Tournament.

The two reached the final after beating their semifinal opponents on Sunday, October 27. Nkwe, which topped the southern region in the round-robin, easily beat northern region runners-up, Thutlwa by seven wickets. The match was played at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval in Gaborone.

Thutlwa from the mining town of Selebi Phikwe batted first and managed to make 247 runs at the end of their innings. Nkwe was left chasing a target of 248 runs to win the match and made 45 runs over the first seven overs without losing a wicket.

They built onto that solid start and crossed the 100 run mark before the end of the 18th over. They had lost a single wicket by that period. The Gaborone team then blew off their opponents and ultimately reached the 248 runs target for the loss of three wickets after 38 overs.

Nkwe won the match by seven wickets. The second semifinal which was held in Francistown saw southern region runners-up Tshukudu defeat Kubu by 105 runs. Kubu had qualified for the semifinals after winning the northern region.

Inclement weather in the second city caused the match to be reduced to 40 overs. Tshukudu batted first and with man-of-the-match, Karabo Modise making 103 runs, closed their innings with a total of 310 runs for six wickets.

Kubu managed 205 runs in reply before losing all their wickets in the 38th over. The final will be played at the BCA Oval at a date to be determined by the organisers. ENDS