THE star attraction of the tournament, Chris Gayle, bludgeoned an unbeaten 109 but ironically ended up on the losing side as Mid West Rhinos beat Matabeleland Tuskers by seven wickets. Brendan Taylor’s unbeaten 75 turned out to be the match-winning knock as the Rhinos registered their first win.
The Tuskers lost Tom Smith early and that brought Gayle and Paul Horton together for an unbroken stand of 166. Gayle smashed eight fours and seven sixes in his 59-ball knock. Horton remained unbeaten on 47, off 58 balls.
The target of 172 was achieved with three balls to spare. Taylor shared stands of 56 with the New Zealander Lou Vincent and 105 for the third wicket with Gary Ballance. Ballance made a quick-fire 67 off 34 balls, including four sixes.
Ironically for Gayle again, he leaked 47 off 3.3 overs, the most expensive figures of the day. (ESPN Cricinfo)