Sibanda 116 leads Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe expectedly triumphed over Bermuda in the ICC Trophy final, as Vusi Sibanda stroked 116 in an 83-run victory. The opener faced 137 balls, hitting 9 fours and a six for his maiden international ton.

The innings set up a total of 259/7, which given the inexperience of their opponents, practically sealed the victory for Zimbabwe. Sibanda looked in form from the start and ensured that the score kept moving well despite the loss of Piet Rinke (23) and Justice Chibhabha, who particularly laboured in scoring 18 from 37 balls.

He then received good support from wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor, who scored 55 off 50 ball and added 88 for the third wicket. A brace of wickets in the court of Bermuda toward the end saw the Zimbabweans derailed, but the damage had already been done. This, even as the score slipped from 200/2 to 201/5 in the space of 7 balls.

Tawanda Mupariwa and Prosper Utseya quickly ensured the contest would be as one-sided as predicted. The two shared the first four wickets to fall and a score of 62/4 was barely even a tease of competitiveness.

Dean Minors (29 off 29 balls) and Lionel Cann (40 off 32 balls) injected some fight for the cause, limiting the margin of Zimbabwean victory and providing some entertainment for the crowd.

Zimbabwe 259-7 (50 overs)
Vusi Sibanda 116, Brendan Taylor 55
Irving Romaine 2-22, George O’Brien 2-42,Hasan Durham 2-55

Bermuda 176 all out (47.2 overs)
Lionel Cann 40, Dean Minors 29, Saleem Mukuddem 25
Tawanda Mupariwa 3-19, Blessing Mahwire 3-29, Prosper Utseya 2-21

Zimbabwe won by 83 runs; win 2006 TriNations Tournament in West Indies

Cricket Web Man of the Match: Vusi Sibanda – 116 runs, 2 catches