HARARE Bolts’ left-arm medium pacer, Arineshto Vhezha, delivered a match-winning performance to help the Capital Boys secure a thrilling 44-run victory over NYS Lagos in the Zim Afro T10 at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.
In the final over, the left-arm bowler took two wickets and made a direct hit run-out, ensuring a victory for Harare Bolts. This performance helped the budding cricketer overcome the memory of a costly over in the battle of the cities against Bulawayo Braves Jaguars earlier in the tournament.
Vhezha was given the responsibility to bowl the final over, and he delivered with great skill and precision, taking crucial wickets. His exceptional performance helped his side restrict NYS Lagos to 73 all out, well short of the 117/7 target set by Bolts. This was thanks largely to captain Dasun Shanaka’s blistering 31 off 10 balls and Sean Williams’ unbeaten 23.
Bolts teammate Richard Gleeson had full faith in Vhezha’s abilities and had a few words of encouragement for him before the last over.
“Gleeson came to me and said this is more like practice, where you’ll get pressure situations as well. So, I just tried to execute what I know and what I had to do,” the young Zimbabwean revealed.
Although Vhezha faced a challenge after a 23-run over against the Bulawayo Braves Jaguars, he displayed remarkable character by bouncing back and delivering an outstanding performance when it mattered most.
“I would say there’s something that motivated me. I was in the reserves for the U19 World Cup, but luckily I was selected to be on the high-performance side,” Vhezha added.
“I would feel if I keep on working hard, I definitely belong there.”
