Yusuf Pathan rolled back the years and how, as he produced plenty of big hits and entertainment at the Harare Sports Club, to help the Joburg Buffaloes storm into the finals of the Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10, after defeating the Durban Qalandars by 6 wickets in Qualifier 1. Yusuf scored an unbeaten 80 from 26 deliveries as the Buffaloes chased down a record total on Friday. Put into bat first, the Durban Qalandars, who had finished top of the table in the league stage, had a slow start, losing the in-form Tim Seifert for 11 in the third over, with the score on 16. That though would kick start a fantastic as Mirza Tahir Baig and Andre Fletcher went through the gears against the Joburg Buffaloes' bowling.
While it was Fletcher, who was finding the boundaries with more regularity, Baig ensured he kept the scoreboard moving at his end. The duo put on a 49-run stand for the second wicket in quick time before Baig was dismissed in the 6th over for 20 by Victor Nyauchi. A short while later, George Linde departed for 1, and that was followed by the big scalp of Fletcher for 39 off 14 deliveries.
That brought the due of Asif Ali and Nick Welch to the middle in the death overs, and they piled on the runs at good pace. Both hammered a six each and smashed 8 boundaries between themselves, as the Qalandars' total soared over the 100-run mark, to stop at 140/4 in their 10 overs. At that point, it was the highest total in an innings during the course of the tournament.
Far from over when @iamyusufpathan is in this form! #JBvDQ #T10League #ZimAfroT10 #CricketsFastestFormat pic.twitter.com/Cdgi7HCsAd
In response, the Joburg Buffaloes did not quite have the start they needed. Mohammad Hafeez and Tom Banton, both big hitters were looking
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