Zimbabwe: After the Joburg Buffaloes defeated the Durban Qalandars by six wickets in Qualifier 1, Yusuf Pathan turned back the clock and provided plenty of big hits and entertainment at the Harare Sports Club to help the team advance to the finals of the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10. On Friday, Yusuf led the Buffaloes in scoring with an unbeaten 80 from 26 deliveries as they chased down a record total.
When given the opportunity to bat first, the Durban Qalandars, who had won the league championship, got off to a slow start. With the score at 16, they lost the effective Tim Seifert for 11 in the third over. However, that would mark the beginning of a fantastic as Mirza Tahir Baig and Andre Fletcher ramped up their efforts to counter the Joburg Buffaloes' bowling.
Fletcher was more consistently hitting the target, but Baig made sure he kept his end of the scoreboard moving. Before Baig was bowled by Victor Nyauchi for 20 runs in the sixth over, the pair quickly put together a 49-run stand for the second wicket. Soon after, George Linde left for 1 and was replaced by the significant loss of Fletcher for 39 off 14 pitches.
Also Read: Umpire Nitin Menon Faces Kohli's fans Wit in Thrilling decision in ashes
Asif Ali and Nick Welch were now in the middle of the innings in the final few overs, and they quickly piled on the runs. The Qalandars' total soared over 100 runs to stop at 140/4 in their 10 overs as both smashed a six each and eight boundaries between them. It was the highest total in an innings during the tournament at that point.
The Joburg Buffaloes didn't quite get off to the right start in response. Big hitters Tom Banton and Mohammad Hafeez wanted to start the match right away as required, but the Qalandars' bowlers had other plans.
They used some excellent bowling to tie up the batters, which allowed Hafeez (17) to become the first wicket for the Qalandars. Tayyab Abbas quickly removed Banton (4), and later in the fifth over, he also got rid of the dangerous Will Smeed (16). The score at that point was 56/3, with the Qalandars clearly in the lead.
#ICYMI we witnessed @iamyusufpathan mania at it's peak ????️#ZimAfroT10 #JBvDQ #CricketsFastestFormat #T10League #InTheWild pic.twitter.com/Jn1yXlGrr2
— ZimAfroT10 (@ZimAfroT10) July 28, 2023
Also Read: Sri Lanka's Star Wanindu Hasaranga Marks His 26th Birthday - A Look Back at His Journey!
Tendai Chatara had his number before Ravi Bopara could add more than 1, at which point Yusuf Pathan and Mushfiqur Rahim joined forces with a sizable task ahead of them. After the pair managed to withstand the strain, Yusuf found his groove against Mohammad Amir in the eighth over, smashing him for three sixes and a boundary in a 25-run over that helped the Buffaloes pass the 100-run threshold. The Buffaloes would require 39 runs to win in the final two overs.
Yusuf reached his fifty in the ninth over and then, to the delight of the crowd, kept using the long handle. The Buffaloes needed 20 points to win in the final over, and Yusuf was blazing a trail.
Yusuf Pathan smashed 6, 6, 0, 6, 2, 4 in a single over against Amir.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 28, 2023
What a beast. ????pic.twitter.com/8nCf1H8l8c
With a vintage knock, the Indian batsman was definitely going back in time. He continued on his good behavior in the final over, starting with two fours and two sixes before concluding the match with a boundary to help the Buffaloes advance to the Zim Afro T10 final.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Surprised by Challenging Pitch, Hails Bowling Effort in ODI Victory
