TAKASHINGA Patriots 1 opened their NPL T20 Blast with a comfortable 76-run victory against defending champions SOGO Rangers in a match played at Old Hararians Sports Club on Saturday.

Rangers dug their own grave when they made the wrong call to field first after winning the toss. They underestimated the Patriots’ strong batting line up powered by National Premier League 45-overs batsman of the tournament, Innocent Kaia.

A man of few words, Kaia chose to let do the talking as he plundered three boundaries and two maximums enroute to his 46 off 28 balls.

Fellow explosive opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe scored 17 off 20, matching his captain Roy Kaia, 17 (21), with Tafadzwa Tsiga and Kundai Matigimu weighing in with 42 and 26 runs, respectively. Patriots 1 totalled a competitive 179/7 while Rangers got their wickets from Mike Frost who picked three for 31 runs from four overs while Daniel Jackiel picked two.

Rangers’ chase met an unyielding Takashinga Patriots 1 bowling attack fronted by spinner Tapiwa Mufudza who picked three wickets for 31 runs from four overs. Tendai Chatara stamped his authority with two wickets for eight runs in his three-over spell going for just 2.67 runs an over. Alex Falao and Tanaka Chivanga also grabbed two wickets each. Rangers captain Jonathan Campbell top-scored with 47 runs on a difficult batting afternoon for his side. Rangers were bundled out for 103 runs inside 16.1 overs, giving Takashinga Patriots 1 an easy 76-run victory.