The Gobabis Bulls won the Nedbank Desert Ice T20 League after beating the Run Whisperers by 13 runs in Sunday’s final.
Batting first, the Bulls amassed 256 for seven wickets off their 20 overs and then managed to restrict the Run Whisperers to 243/5 to clinch the trophy for the first time in the tournament’s five-year history.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Bulls got off to a steady start as all their top-order batters reached double figures.
Captain Keith Kondo scored 38, Josue Celliers 25 and Tawanda Sithole 27, but the Run Whisperers weighed in with regular wickets, and with just over seven overs to go they had restricted the Bulls to 124/6.
Kobus Brand, however, put the Bulls in charge with a brilliant century as he scored 105 not out off only 29 balls, while Fungayo Hlupo scored 29 not out to set the Run Whisperers a difficult target.
Brand’s blistering innings would have been a world record, but for the fact that in terms of the tournament rules, boundaries counted double if they reached an outer perimeter.
In reply, the Run Whisperers lost Nirav Ladani early for three runs, but a 98-run partnership between Nyasha Nyashadzaishe (32) and Erik Lintvelt (67) revived their hopes.
Further down the order, Wessel Myburgh added 38, Nicolaas Buys 29, Abri Oberholzer 20 not out, and Carlo Lacante 18 not out, but they eventually fell 13 runs short of the target.
It was the first time the team from the Omaheke region had won the title, and Kondo said it was a long time coming.
“It’s been quite a journey with the youngsters coming through from under-11, who grew up at Gobabis, who didn’t have the privilege or a chance to play such games on such a platform or ground like this against quality opposition like the Run Whisperers.
“It’s a blessing for us coming from Omaheke, and we give credit to God for all the blessings we’ve had,” he said on Sunday.
“It was a tough tournament overall, but I thought we played quite well, and we only lost one game.
“It feels good to be on the winning side in the final this time – the guys worked hard and they deserve it,” Kondo said.
“We’ve got a couple of sponsors, with BDO being the biggest, and it has really helped a lot . . . Without them, we wouldn’t have been here,” he said.
