While Day Three of this match will almost certainly be the last, against all the odds Zimbabwe will begin the day very much in the driving seat and with a real chance of winning. How did this minor miracle happen? Afer seeing Composite's tail off during the morning session, some of Zimbabwe's batsmen remembered how to play in the second innings to leave Composite with a total to chase, while the bowlers removed the Composite top order cheaply to leave the match finely balanced.
Composite were bowled out for 186 (with Utseya taking an uncharacteristic five'fer), giving them a first-innings lead of 97 - a mountain for Zimbabwe to climb, given they didn't manage to score that many first time out. Tatenda Taibu (100) and Elton Chigumbura (49) came to the side's rescue, though, playing leading roles in an innings that, while it could still have been better, helped to restore some pride for the side and made sure that Composite wouldn't be handed an easy win. Taylor and Matsikenyeri both went for ducks, but the other members of the side each made varying contributions to see innings end on 246, and Composite needing 150 to win.
Their chase did not start well, with early losses seeing them collapse to 25/4 before Liebisch and Burger steadied the ship before the close. Composite require another 108 to win - but with the way this match is playing out, that's far from guaranteed. We may just have an exciting day's play tomorrow...
Zimbabwe 89 (Chigumbura 35, Coetzee 4/19) & 246 (Taibu 100, Burger 5/59), SA Composite XI 186 (Madsen 70*, Utseya 5/40) & 42/4 (Burger 11*, Chigumbura 2/9). SA Composite require another 108 to win. Scorecard below the cut.
Zimbabwe 1st innings
H Masakadza c Reddy b Coetzee 4
V Sibanda c Adams b Burger 0
CJ Chibhabha c Dyili b Burger 1
T Taibu c Burger b Kruger 20
BRM Taylor lbw b Coetzee 2
S Matsikenyeri c Madsen b Coetzee 7
KM Dabengwa c Madsen b Kruger 5
E Chigumbura c Liebisch b Kruger 35
P Utseya lbw b Coetzee 0
RW Price c Hector b Burger 2
CB Mpofu not out 0
Extras (lb 11, w 1, nb 1) 13
Total (all out; 43.3 overs) 89
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Sibanda, 1.2 ov), 2-1 (Chibhabha, 3.2 ov),
3-9 (Masakadza, 8.6 ov), 4-27 (Taylor, 16.1 ov), 5-35 (Taibu, 20.3 ov),
6-48 (Dabengwa, 28.2 ov), 7-51 (Matsikenyeri, 30.1 ov),
8-51 (Utseya, 30.4 ov), 9-83 (Price, 42.2 ov), 10-89 (Chigumbura, 43.3 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ
J Coetzee 15 9 19 4 1.26
S Burger 8 4 13 3 1.62
BL Reddy 11 5 26 0 2.36 (1nb)
AK Kruger 7.3 3 15 3 2.00 (1w)
SW Liebisch 2 1 5 0 2.50
South African Composite XI 1st innings
BD Snijman b Chigumbura 9
R Jappie run out (Chibhabha) 2
B Hector c Dabengwa b Chigumbura 5
WL Madsen not out 70
SW Liebisch c Utseya b Mpofu 19
S Burger b Masakadza 19
AK Kruger b Utseya 37
AZM Dyili c Dabengwa b Utseya 2
J Coetzee b Utseya 11
PR Adams c Chibhabha b Utseya 4
BL Reddy c Chibhabha b Utseya 0
Extras (lb 6, w 2) 8
Total (all out; 61.3 overs; 244 mins) 186
Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Jappie, 3.6 ov), 2-14 (Snijman, 5.2 ov),
3-19 (Hector, 5.5 ov), 4-49 (Liebisch, 13.5 ov), 5-73 (Burger, 21.3 ov),
6-153 (Kruger, 45.5 ov), 7-157 (Dyili, 49.2 ov), 8-175 (Coetzee, 57.2 ov),
9-181 (Adams, 59.4 ov), 10-186 (Reddy, 61.3 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ
CB Mpofu 16 3 45 1 2.81 (1w)
E Chigumbura 11 1 49 2 4.45 (1w)
CJ Chibhabha 7 2 14 0 2.00
H Masakadza 3 1 6 1 2.00
RW Price 13 3 26 0 2.00
P Utseya 11.3 3 40 5 3.47
Zimbabwe 2nd innings
H Masakadza c Snijman b Kruger 9
V Sibanda lbw b Burger 5
CJ Chibhabha c Dyili b Burger 35
T Taibu c Snijman b Burger 100
BRM Taylor c Kruger b Burger 0
S Matsikenyeri c Madsen b Liebisch 0
KM Dabengwa c Dyili b Kruger 17
E Chigumbura c Madsen b Adams 49
P Utseya c Hector b Liebisch 7
RW Price b Burger 10
CB Mpofu not out 4
Extras (b 4, lb 2, w 2, nb 2) 10
Total (all out; 55.4 overs; 256 mins) 246
Fall of wickets: 1-14 (Sibanda, 5.6 ov), 2-20 (Masakadza, 9.1 ov),
3-83 (Chibhabha, 19.2 ov), 4-83 (Taylor, 19.4 ov), 5-84 (Matsikenyeri, 20.2 ov),
6-116 (Dabengwa, 27.2 ov), 7-202 (Chigumbura, 40.6 ov), 8-225 (Utseya, 50.5 ov),
9-237 (Taibu, 53.4 ov), 10-246 (Price, 55.4 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ
J Coetzee 2.2 0 7 0 3.00
S Burger 13.4 0 59 5 4.31
BL Reddy 6.4 1 20 0 3.00
AK Kruger 11 0 61 2 5.54 (1w)
SW Liebisch 14 1 54 2 3.85 (2nb)
PR Adams 8 2 39 1 4.87 (1w)
South African Composite XI 2nd innings (target: 150 runs)
BD Snijman b Chigumbura 5
R Jappie c Masakadza b Chigumbura 3
B Hector b Mpofu 4
WL Madsen lbw b Chibhabha 9
SW Liebisch not out 4
S Burger not out 11
Extras (b 1, lb 4, w 1) 6
Total (4 wickets; 22 overs; 96 mins) 42
To bat: AK Kruger, AZM Dyili, J Coetzee, PR Adams, BL Reddy
Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Snijman, 1.5 ov), 2-8 (Jappie, 5.4 ov), 3-12 (Hector, 8.4 ov),
4-25 (Madsen, 15.1 ov)
Bowling O M R W Econ
CB Mpofu 6 2 9 1 1.50 (1w)
E Chigumbura 6 3 9 2 1.50
H Masakadza 4 1 8 0 2.00
CJ Chibhabha 5 2 10 1 2.00
RW Price 1 0 1 0 1.00
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