Shining Stars Cricket team got their Botswana Cricket Association (BCA) 50 overs tournament to a bright start as they edged Tladi Cricket team. In a tightly fought match played at the BCA Oval, Shining Stars held their nerve to edge Tladi with a 2 run margin.
Having won the toss and selected to bat first, Shining Stars looked on course to setting a high score, only to collapse after passing their century of runs.
Propped by Rashaad Mosweu who scored the games’ first half century as well as Tumelo Molema and Thatayaone Tshose who both made 30 runs each, Shining Stars looked set to post an insurmountable run rate as they managed to pass a century of runs having lost only a single wicket.
The team however crumbled after losing their second wicket at 104 runs. Under pressure from bowlers Nabil Masters and Imran Khan who took three wickets apiece, Shining Stars wilted and were all bowled out for 214 runs in 41.4 overs. Khan was the pick of the bowlers with his three wickets for 44 runs, closely followed by Masters with 3 for 49 runs.
The low run rate left Tladi, who boast a glut of stars, among them national team Captain Karabo Motlhanka needing to score 215 runs, with a 4.3 run rate to win the match. Despite a valiant effort from Firoz Ghaswala and Motlhanka, both of whom scored a combined total of 138 runs.
Ghaswala in particular was impressive with the bat, hitting a total of 91 runs in his time at the crease while Motlhanka fell just three runs from registering his half century. In spite of their efforts, the two could not manage to see their team through the finish line as Tladi was pegged back by the resilient Shining Stars bowlers.
In need of just three runs to win or two to draw from the last two balls of their 50 overs, Tladi failed to reach the target as they were all bowled out for 212 runs, losing by a slight 2 runs margin in the process.
In another game played in Lobatse, Ditlhase beat Southern Rocks by 8 wickets to start their tournament on a high note. After winning the toss, Ditlhase put Rocks in to bat first and the decision proved inspired as Rocks were all out for a paltry 158 runs after 37.4 overs.
Aside from Yousuf Akha who managed to pass a half century of runs, posting in an impressive 64 runs in his outing at the crease, it was a difficult day for Rocks’ other bowlers as none managed to pass 25 runs.
Sooraj Nair and Noor Ahmad were the pick of bowlers as they claimed 2 wickets apiece for 25 and 26 runs respectively. The paltry 158 runs proved a too easy chase for Ditlhase who managed to overhaul the runs in 26 overs having lost just two wickets.
As he was with the ball in his hand, Nair once again led the assault on the Rocks’ with a bat as he posted 72 runs to set his team on course for a well deserved win. Nair was assisted at the crease by Sidharth Rangaswamy who made 69 runs during his time at the crease.
