19 Nov 2013

Gaborone Tshukudu thrashed fellow capital city club Nkwe by 104 runs in the final to become inaugural champions of the National 50 Overs Cricket Tournament.

Nkwe elected to field first after winning the toss in the championship match played under scorching conditions at the cricket oval in Gaborone on Sunday, November 18.

Tshukudu took full advantage of batting first and made 293 runs for five wickets at the end of their innings to leave Nkwe with a huge target to overcome. Batsmen Thatayaone Tshose and Karabo Modise were brilliant, making 62 and 60 runs respectively to put Tshukudu in a comfortable position.

Nkwe’s chase got off to a promising start as they established a good run -- scoring rate in their first five overs. But they then lost their momentum after losing five wickets in a spell of six overs.

The loss of Ali Mirza and Shahzaib Khan’s wickets were big blow as Nkwe’s run rate started diminishing. Having lost many wickets early in their innings it was clear that Nkwe would struggle to reach the big target of 293 runs.

Their flailing chase finally came to an end when Dhruu Maisuriya was bowled out by Thatayaone Tshose in the 31st over. Nkwe had only managed a paltry 189 runs by the time they lost all their wickets, leaving Tshukudu winners by 104 runs.

Tshukudu’s inspirational bowler Nabil Master was elected man-of-the-match, while his team was awarded gold medals and a trophy for being champions. Nkwe settled for bronze medals.

The tournament, which was meant to provide cricket players with platform for competition, started in September. It was played by eight teams, four from the south and four from the northern part of the country. Top two teams in each zone later progressed to the knockout stages. ENDS