Ken Borland

South Africa thrashed Zimbabwe by six wickets with 14 balls to spare on Saturday to reach the final of the Pran RFL T20 Triangular Series at Harare Sports Club.

18th over – Albie Morkel ends the match as he launches his second ball from Stuart Matsikenyeri over midwicket for six, South Africa reaching their target with 14 balls to spare.

17th over – WICKET – Justin Ontong gives his wicket away as he heaves a wide off-spinner from Malcolm Waller to long-off, Vusi Sibanda taking a running catch. Ontong scored 24 off 32 balls.

11th over – WICKET – A magnificent piece of fielding by Christopher Mpofu has run out Richard Levi! Levi drives Richard Muzhange crisply to long-off, Mpofu is in quickly from the boundary and unleashes a superb throw back to wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor that has Levi well short coming back for the second. Levi has once again produced the perfect start though, his quickfire 54 off 30 balls, with four sixes, all but settling the result.

10th over – A powerful sweep shot – well-placed too – brings four runs for Ontong off leg-spinner Graeme Cremer.

9th over – Six more runs to end the over for Richard Levi via a well-struck slog-sweep off Prosper Utseya.

6th over – WICKET – Kyle Jarvis makes a fine return as he has Faf du Plessis caught behind for 14. The batsman makes room for a big drive, but there is a bit of away swing and he edges an easy catch to wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor.

5th over – The introduction of spin – in the form of Utseya – proves disastrous as the off-spinner dishes up three short balls that are dispatched through the leg side for boundaries, one by Du Plessis and two by Levi.

4th over – Elton Chigumbura comes on but drops short and Levi dispatches the ball behind square-leg for four. The next delivery is in the arc and Levi shows magnificent timing as he just flicks the ball over midwicket and out the ground for six! The over costs 15 runs as Levi edges the last ball to third man for four.

3rd over – Du Plessis waltzes down the pitch to Christopher Mpofu and lashes him over wide mid-off for four.

2nd over – Levi ends the over with successive sixes off paceman Jarvis! The first is beautifully walloped over long-on, the second just flicked over square-leg.

1st over – Levi gets off the mark with a single off the second ball of the over, but Hashim Amla is then out first ball! WICKET – Amla tries to glance a short ball from Mpofu down the leg side, but there is some extra bounce and wicketkeeper Taylor takes a superb catch, diving low to his left as the edge made the ball die on him.

Zimbabwe innings

Zimbabwe posted 124 for six – a tough total to defend – in the decisive Pran RFL T20 Triangular Series match against South Africa at the Harare Sports Club on Saturday.

19th over – The superb Wayne Parnell bowls the penultimate over but his first ball is too short and Graeme Cremer smashes a pull in front of midwicket for four.

17th over – Cremer expertly paddles Lonwabo Tsotsobe from outside off stump, past short fine leg for four.

16th over – Albie Morkel is introduced into the attack and claims a wicket with his fourth delivery. WICKET – Stuart Matsikenyeri skies a slog to long-on and is out for 22 off 29 balls as Faf du Plessis judges the steepling catch very well. Morkel ends the over with a short delivery which Cremer hits for four with a crunching pull shot.

15th over – Cremer leans back and cuts Robin Peterson with such force he loses his balance and topples over! But he’s made good contact and Tsotsobe can’t stop the ball crossing the point boundary.

14th over – Well-struck by Matsikenyeri as he bashes Du Plessis through mid-off, beating long-off to the boundary.

12th over – A good sweep shot by Matsikenyeri brings him four runs off leg-spinner Du Plessis.

11th over – Elton Chigumbura lashes a shortish delivery from Parnell through backward point for four. But the left-arm paceman responds with an excellent delivery, perfect length and just nipping away a touch, and Chigumbura’s flatfooted drive edges a straightforward catch to wicketkeeper Dane Vilas. Chigumbura took 12 balls to score five runs.

9th over – Just like he did yesterday, Parnell takes two wickets in an over! WICKET – The in-form Hamilton Masakadza drives at a full delivery, but is a bit cramped and Farhaan Behardien scoops up a fine catch low at extra cover. Masakadza looked set for his fourth successive half-century but his innings ends at 36 off 30 balls, with four fours and a six. WICKET – Two balls later, Malcom Waller edges a flatfooted drive at a full, wide delivery, and is out for a duck as wicketkeeper Vilas dives low to his right to take a brilliant one-handed catch.

6th over – Two boundaries for Masakadza in the Tsotsobe over as he backs away and gets a shortish delivery up and over cover-point and then dispatches a short ball that sits up through midwicket.

5th over – WICKET – Peterson strikes at the end of his first over as Taylor tries to flick the left-arm spinner through midwicket, but gets a leading edge and Tsotsobe runs round from mid-on to take the catch. The Zimbabwe captain is out for just a single.

4th over – Chris Morris comes back well as he removes Sibanda for nine and just five runs come from the over. WICKET – Sibanda steps right across his stumps and misses a swing to leg, and is plumb leg-before-wicket.

3rd over – Too straight and in the slot from Tsotsobe and Sibanda flicks the ball elegantly over backward square-leg for another six! Masakadza then hops down the pitch and flat-bats Tsotsobe just past Sibanda for a brutal boundary.

2nd over – Masakadza takes 10 runs off the last two balls of Morris’s opening over. He flicks a leg-side delivery off his pads, straight past Lonwabo Tsotsobe at short fine leg for four, and then hops down the pitch outside leg-stump and slaps Morris over the covers for a stunning six.

The cancers of lacklustre batting and a host of extras conceded by the bowlers cost South Africa dearly as they lost by three wickets to Bangladesh in their T20 match at Harare Sports Club on Friday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/sa-team/news/120622/Sillyerror_cancers_cost_SA_dearly

South Africa batted poorly to post just 129 for seven, Bangladesh getting to their target with a ball to spare as all-rounders Mahmudullah (28) and Ziaur Rahman (27*) finished the job after a strong platform was laid up front by Mohammad Ashraful (40).

South Africa’s bowlers contrived to concede eight wides and two no-balls, as well as 10 leg-byes because of leg-side bowling. One of the no-balls cost the vital wicket of Ziaur when he was bowled by Parnell on 11 in the 17th over.

The tourists also dropped two catches, with Farhaan Behardien dropping Ziaur on the boundary, also when he had 11, and Marchant de Lange spilling a tougher boundary chance from Ashraful on 34.

Marchant de Lange removed Junaid Siddique for five, slicing a catch to third man, in the second over, but an awful second over from the fast bowler gave vital momemtum to Bangladesh.

It’s certainly breathless stuff when De Lange is in action and he started the fourth over of the innings with two wide bouncers down leg, a third wide bouncer which was called a no-ball for height, and then his fourth delivery was also a leg-side wide. Anamul Haque then clipped a four through midwicket, but a brilliant, fast yorker then trapped him lbw for four. Ashraful then ended the shambolic over with successive boundaries, the first via a magnificent cover-drive.

Ashraful continued to play some amazing strokes as he dominated a third-wicket stand of 41 before Wayne Parnell breathed new life into South Africa’s chances by taking two wickets in the ninth over.

Flapping at bouncers proved the undoing of Mushfiqur Rahim (7) and Nasir Hossain (0) and Ashraful, whose tendency to give his wicket away at crucial times is rapidly becoming a chronic disease, then holed out on Albie Morkel’s second ball in the 13th over.

But Mahmudullah and Ziaur then combined to take Bangladesh to the brink of victory as they added 40 in 5.5 overs before De Lange bowled a superb penultimate over, removing Mahmudullah and conceding just three runs, two of them leg-byes, to give South Africa a slim chance.

Bangladesh needed just three runs off Chris Morris’s final over to win and great stops by Behardien and Colin Ingram, plus the wicket of Farhad Reza for a single, kept them to just a single off the first four balls. But Ziaur then sliced a low full toss to the backward point boundary to clinch victory.

A poor batting display by South Africa had earlier seen them struggle to 129 for seven.

There was precious little by way of free strokeplay by the South Africans as the effects of a slow pitch, excellent Bangladesh bowling and enthusiastic fielding strangled them.

South Africa had won the toss and batted first, but were off to a poor start as they slumped to 34 for three in the seventh over.

Faf du Plessis (13) tried to heave left-arm spinner Elias Sunny on the leg side, but skewed the ball over wide mid-on, Ziaur Rahman back-pedalling and taking a good lunging catch.

Colin Ingram scored just a single before he chipped a return catch to off-spinner Mahmudullah and South Africa then lost the wicket of Hashim Amla in disastrous fashion, the captain being run out as Justin Ontong pushed Sunny square on the off-side and thought about a quick single before sending his partner back too late. Nasir Hossain scored a super direct hit and Amla was out for 20, which came off 19 balls and included two boundaries through the covers.

Ontong and Farhaan Behardien added 56 for the fourth wicket, but it was not at a healthy run-rate, the runs coming off 58 balls, leaving the lower-order under more pressure when the partnership was broken with just four overs remaining and the total just 90.

Ontong’s 41 off 36 balls was a good contribution, but the hazards of the pitch even had him subdued, despite all his experience of playing on the similar Paarl pitch for the Western Cape Cobras.

Ontong fell in disappointing fashion, charging down the pitch and missing a heave at Ziaur, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim, who set the tone for an impressive fielding effort, completing a sharp stumping standing up to the medium-pacer.

Behardien, Albie Morkel and Chris Morris are all dangerous hitters but they all frittered away their wickets in the closing overs.

Behardien was caught behind off the impressive Sunny for 16 off 26 balls, while Morkel (12) picked up a well-struck six before holing out off Mashrafe Mortaza.

While Bangladesh brought intensity to their fielding, South Africa’s running between the wickets was poor and Morris could face just one ball, without getting off the mark, before he ran himself out charging down the pitch for a non-existent second run. Sunny was the fielder, adding a run out to his superb bowling figures of 2-21 in four overs.

Dane Vilas (8*) and a typically useful late cameo from Robin Peterson (11* off six) provided the finishing touches to an innings that was an uphill struggle all the way.

While Sunny was the best of the bowlers, fellow spinner Abdur Razzak (4-0-17-0) and Mahmudullah (3-0-18-1) were also impressive, while just 15 runs came from the three combined overs of medium-pacers Farhad Reza (2-0-8-0) and Ziaur (1-0-7-1).

It required a brilliant effort in the field from South Africa for them to pull this game out of the fire, but the bowlers were wayward and South Africa now have to beat Zimbabwe on Saturday to make it into the final.

Ziaur Rahman steered Bangladesh home as they beat South Africa by three wickets with a ball to spare in their Pran RFL T20 Triangular Series match at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.

20th over – Chris Morris starts the final over with just three runs to defend and it’s a great start by the South Africans as they concede just a single off the first two balls. Farhaan Behardien pulls off a superb stop at short midwicket and almost runs out Farhad Reza with a direct hit. WICKET – His brilliance keeps Farhad on strike, however, and he swungs a low full toss straight to Justin Ontong at deep midwicket on the next ball to be out for a single. Colin Ingram makes a great stop in the covers to ensure a dot ball off the next delivery, but Morris then delivers another low full toss which Ziaur slashes over backward point for the winning boundary.

19th over – WICKET – Marchant de Lange starts a fine over with the wicket of Mahmudullah, who slices a big drive at a good-length ball outside off stump high to Hashim Amla at deep mid-off. Mahmudullah’s 28 off 27 balls has taken Bangladesh to the brink of victory.

18th over – Morris returns but makes a bad start as Ziaur pummels his first ball over midwicket for four and then belts him over the covers for four more off the second ball. Morris’s third delivery is a wide down the leg side.

17th over – Oh no, a key error by Wayne Parnell! Ziaur plays a loose pull shot to a delivery that is too full and is “bowled” for 11. But TV replays show Parnell has over-stepped by a long way, the batsman is recalled and a no-ball awarded.

16th over – Mahmudullah slogs Albie Morkel from outside off stump to cow-corner for a one-bounce four.

15th over – Ziaur, on 11, heaves Robin Peterson to long-on, where Behardien, running around the boundary, gets both hands to the catch, but it pops out!

14th over – A wide long-hop from leg-spinner Faf du Plessis is cut through the covers for four by Ziaur.

13th over – WICKET – Morkel claims the key wicket of Ashraful with his second ball! Ashraful tries to drive a full ball over wide mid-on but ends up slicing it high to long-on, where Morris runs and takes the catch. Ashraful scored a run-a-ball 40, which was a fine innings, but his team needed him to stay there until the end!

12th over – Ashraful launches a big straight drive off Du Plessis, De Lange races across from long-on, gets his hands to the ball but can’t take the difficult catch, the ball deflecting over the boundary for four!

9th over – Parnell uses the bouncer to great effect to pick up two wickets in the over! WICKET – Mushfiqur (7) is late on an attempted hook shot and ends up gloving the ball to wicketkeeper Dane Vilas. WICKET – Three balls later, Nasir (0) is caught between ducking and hooking another bouncer, and ends up presenting a simple catch to Morkel at fine leg. Parnell’s first ball to Mahmudullah is a short and wide no-ball which is expertly cut away for four. The free hit costs just a single, so overall a great over for South Africa.

6th over – Full and wide from Parnell and Ashraful slashes the ball over point for four.

5th over – Mushfiqur gets in on the fun now as he slog-sweeps Morris for four.

4th over – An extraordinary over from De Lange. He starts with two bouncers down leg, both called wide, and his third ball is also a wide bouncer, called a no-ball because he’s only allowed two balls over head height in an over! His fourth ball is another wide down the leg side! De Lange switches to around the wicket but Anamul Haque clips a leg-stump half-volley through midwicket for four. WICKET – De Lange goes back to over the wicket and gets it right! A fast yorker cannons into Anamul’s foot and he is trapped lbw for four. Ashraful ends the shambolic over with successive boundaries, via a magnificent cover-drive and a neat flick off his pads through midwicket.

3rd over – Left-arm spinner Peterson’s first over cost just one run, but Ashraful starts his second over with three successive boundaries! Ashraful starts with a skilful little late cut, before driving sweetly past mid-off and then smearing a sweep shot for four more.

2nd over – Sjoe! Confidence from Junaid Siddique as he waltzes down the pitch to fast bowler De Lange and belts him straight down the ground for four. WICKET – But Sidduque tries to repeat the stroke next ball, but can only edge the delivery to third man, where Morris takes the catch. Siddique out for five.

South Africa innings

South Africa produced another frustrating batting display as they struggled to 129 for seven in their Pran RFL T20 Triangular Series match against Bangladesh at the Harare Sports Club on Friday.

20th over – A great start to the final over for South Africa as Robin Peterson launches Mashrafe Mortaza high and handsome over wide long-on for six. The rest of the over, except for an edged four by Dane Vilas, is just singles, however.

19th over – WICKET – A second run out in the innings as Vilas swings Farhad Reza through square-leg. Chris Morris comes charging down the pitch for the second, but is sent back as Elias Sunny is quickly in from the boundary. Morris is way too far down the pitch to make his ground and is out for a duck.

18th over – Albie Morkel collects his first boundary as he muscles a pull off Mortaza through wide mid-on. WICKET – But three balls later, paceman Mortaza finds the blockhole and Morkel (12) can only mis-hit his drive to long-off.

17th over – WICKET – Farhaan Behardien is out for 16 off 26 balls as he gets a thin edge to a swish outside off stump at Elias Sunny and is caught behind by Mushfiqur Rahim.

16th over – WICKET – Justin Ontong’s gritty innings of 41 off 36 balls comes to an end as he charges down the pitch at medium-pacer Ziaur Rahman and misses a heave, wicketkeeper Mushfiqur pulling off a sharp stumping standing up to the stumps.

12th over – Ontong comes down the pitch and swipes Nasir Hossain over midwicket for six.

9th over – A lucky five runs for Ontong! He tries to sweep Sunny, but inside-edges the ball on to his pad from where it dribbles towards short fine-leg. Farhaan Behardien calls Ontong through for the single, the fielder scores a direct hit at the bowler’s end, but Ontong is safe and gets a bonus four runs as the ball runs away to the boundary!

7th over – WICKET – Disaster for South Africa as Hashim Amla is run out for a run-a-ball 20. Ontong pushes Sunny away square on the off side, thinks about the quick single but then sends Amla back too late. The South African captain is beaten by a super direct hit by Nasir Hossain.

6th over – WICKET – Mahmudullah rather fires in his off-breaks and Colin Ingram (1) chips a cramped drive back to the bowler, who takes a good low catch.

5th over – WICKET – Left-arm spinner Sunny strikes in his first over as Du Plessis tries to heave a flatter delivery away on the leg side but ends up skewing the ball over wide mid-on, Ziaur taking a good catch diving backwards. Du Plessis is out for 13.

3rd over – Amla is quickly on to a delivery from Abdur Razzak that is fractionally short, whipping a square-drive through cover-point for four.

2nd over – Du Plessis shuffles down the pitch and pushes Mortaza straight down the ground for four.

1st over – Amla starts confidently as he strides forward to left-arm spinner Razzak’s third delivery and drives him beautifully through extra cover for four.