Modise, Rangaswamy hand Gaborone Three T20 title
Mqondisi Dube | Monday May 12, 2014 11:36
The champions recovered from a horror start to eventually cruise to a seven-wicket victory inside 16 overs, chasing a modest 132. Skipper Modise and Rangaswamy came together when the favourites had slumped to 15 for three in only the third over. They punished anything short or wide and continued to rotate the strike.
Modise top scored with an unbeaten 56, while Rangaswamy was voted man-of-the-match for his fluent 47 from 39 balls. Lobatse/Kanye won the toss and decided to bat under clear Gaborone skies. However, they did not post an imposing total with Rauf Sheikh top scoring with 37 from 21 balls.
Namara Bandara ripped through the Kanye/Lobatse batting order with four wickets for 14 in 24 deliveries. Pace bowler, Arif Malek gave Kanye/Lobatse the best possible start, snaring three wickets in a fiery opening spell. But Kanye/Lobatse failed to wrestle the initiative as they allowed Modise and Rangaswamy to settle. The pair, although offering decent dismissal chances, looked untroubled for long spells with Modise hitting three sixes and five fours. His partner’s innings were more crafted with one six and two boundaries.
They brought up 100 in the 14th over with Modise clipping the ball wide for two. The heavily built Modise was particularly ruthless at the business end of the innings hitting a six and successive fours to settle the contest. In the semi-finals, Lobatse/Kanye beat Francistown Cricket Club while Gaborone Three dismissed Francistown Sport and Recreation Club.
The tournament, which began in March, saw four teams each from the north and south fight out in a league format.