Kudzai Chigora’s 5-fer headlines Zimbabwe’s fightback with the ball before Josephine Nkomo and Tawananyasha Marumani hold their nerve to seal a stunning victory.
The United Arab Emirates led by skipper Esha Oza thrashed the hosts Namibia by seven wickets in the tri-series opener at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. The Esha Oza-led side were now up against Zimbabwe led by skipper Chiedza Dhururu in the 2nd match of the tri-series at the same venue.
Zimbabwe skipper Chiedza Dhururu won the toss and opted to field first in the 2nd match of the series at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. After being inserted to bat first, the United Arab Emirates openers wicket-keeper batter Theertha Satish and skipper Esha Oza got their side off to a flying start with a 42-run opening partnership, scoring at almost 8 runs an over.
Lindokuhle Mabhero picked up the wicket of the wicket-keeper batter Theertha Satish to provide the first breakthrough for Zimbabwe. UAE lost a couple of wickets in quick succession courtesy of double strikes from Kudzai Chigora in the 7th over of the innings. Kavisha Egodage joined skipper Esha Oza at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 36-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark.
Beloved Biza picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Esha Oza to provide the 4th breakthrough for her side. The United Arab Emirates suffered a horrible collapse as they lost their last six wickets for just 14 runs. As a result, they were bundled out for just 93 runs with three overs to spare in what was a remarkable fightback from Zimbabwe bowlers after UAE got off to a flying start to their innings in the powerplay.
Skipper Esha Oza (34 off 38 balls), and wicket-keeper batter Theertha Satish (30 off 18 balls) were the top performers with the bat for the United Arab Emirates. Kudzai Chigora (4-1-7-5), Beloved Biza (3-0-9-3), Lindokuhle Mabhero (2-0-6-1), and Josephine Nkomo (3-0-19-1) were the top performers with the ball for Zimbabwe.
Chasing a target of 94, Zimbabwe got off to a horrible start losing their first three wickets for just four runs, inside the first couple of overs of the run chase. A spirited response from UAE’s new-ball bowlers Kavisha Egodage and Heena Hotchandani lifted the morale of the Esha Oza-led unit. Skipper Chiedza Dhururu joined Beloved Biza at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 16-run partnership for the 4th wicket to lead some sort of a recovery for their side.
Skipper Esha Oza picked up the wicket of Beloved Biza (18) to provide the 4th breakthrough for UAE. Loryn Phiri joined skipper Chiedza Dhururru at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 18-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side close to the 50-run mark. Indhuja Nandakumar picked up the wicket of Loryn Phiri to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side.
Josephine Nkomo joined skipper Chiedza Dhururu at the crease and the duo stitched a handy 17-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Vaishnave Mahesh picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Chiedza Dhururu to provide the 6th breakthrough for the United Arab Emirates. Christine Mutasa joined Josephine Nkomo at the crease and the duo stitched a 12-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side closer to the target.
Vaishnave Mahesh returned and cleaned up Christine Mutasa to provide the 7th breakthrough for her side. Tawananyasha Marumani joined Josephine Nkomo at the crease and the duo managed to hold their nerve to take their side over the line with an unbeaten 27-run 8th wicket partnership. Josephine Nkomo (30* off 25 balls), Beloved Biza (18 off 23 balls), Tawananyasha Marumani (13* off 10 balls), Loryn Phiri (11 off 14 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Zimbabwe.
Heena Hotchandani (4-1-10-2), Vaishnave Mahesh (4-0-23-2), Indhuja Nandakumar (4-0-22-1), skipper Esha Oza (3-0-14-1), and Kavisha Egodage (3.2-0-16-1) were the top performers with the ball for the United Arab Emirates. Kudzai Chigora was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional match-winning spell (4-1-7-5) with the ball. She played a pivotal role in helping her side script a sensational fightback leaving the UAE batters clueless.