Pettini delivers Eagles D/L win

A four-wicket haul from Trevor Garwe, followed by a 74 from Mark Pettini drove Mashonaland Eagles to a 26-run D/L win against Mid West Rhinos in Harare. Rhinos won the toss and opted to bat, but struggled to string together any substantial partnership, as Garwe (4 for 24) and Cephas Zhuwao kept pegging them back with wickets at regular intervals. Rhinos' captain Malcolm Waller was the only batsman to put up a fight, scoring 48, as the team was restricted to 206 for 9.

Eagles lost three early wickets in the chase, but Pettini kept the chase on course, his 84-ball knock featuring four fours and two sixes. Ryan Burl joined hands with Pettini for a 69-run, fourth-wicket partnership, before adding a further 42 runs for the sixth wicket with Greg Lamb. Eagles were 195 for 6 in 44 overs when the game came to a premature end, with Eagles 26 runs ahead according to Duckworth-Lewis.

A 41-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Keith Dabengwa and John Nyumbu helped Matabeleland Tuskers to a tense four-wicket D/L win against Mountaineers in Bulawayo. Set a revised target of 138 from 31 overs, Tuskers were rocked by three quick wickets from Roy Kaia, reducing them to 100 for 6, with 38 still needed from five overs. However, Dabengwa kept the score ticking before unleashing a counterattack in the 28th over, hitting Shingi Masakadza for 13 runs, including three fours. He and Nyumbu eventually brought the equation down to three needed off the last over, and despite facing three dot balls, Nyumbu sealed the victory with a six off Masakadza.

Mountaineers, opting to bat, were earlier bundled out for 197. A 43 from their opener Tino Mawoyo had them steady at 123 for 2, but the team collapsed from there losing the last eight wickets for just 74 runs. Chris Mpofu (3 for 56) and Dabengwa (3 for 35) shared six wickets between them to stifle their innings.