File photo: Hamilton Masakadza drilled 14 fours and 11 sixes for his unbeaten 162 © AFP
Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza blitzed an unbeaten 162 for Mountaineers against Mashonaland Eagles in the Domestic Twenty20 Competition, notching the second-highest individual score in T20 cricket. Masakadza, playing his 104th T20 match, did not take long to start firing, taking 16 runs off Tafadzwa Muzarawetu’s first over. The boundaries did not stop there, and Masakadza eventually reached his fifty off just 24 balls; his next 112 runs came off only 47.
Overall, Masakadza slammed 14 fours and 11 sixes at an astonishing strike-rate of 228.16. His onslaught did not spare any bowler, though Tanyaradzwa Munyaradzi (41 off 16 balls) and Chamu Chibhahbha (34 off 11 balls) came in for special treatment. Masakadza reached his 150 in the penultimate over with a two, and with two consecutive sixes off Munyaradzi, he overtook the likes of Luke Wright, Aron Finch and Brendon McCullum in the list of highest individual T20 scores.
Masakadza ended 13 runs short Chris Gayle’s record-shattering 175* for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 IPL, but he did not face a single ball of the final over bowled by Muzarawetu, who ended nursing figures of 4-0-62-1.
Masakadza’s blast, coupled with a five-ball 22 from Kudzai Sauramba, powered Mountaineers to 242 for 3. Eagles could only manage 107 for 9 from 12.1 overs in reply, giving Mountaineers a 125-run D/L win.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo