Harare, July 22 (Ians) The Durban Qalandars kick started their campaign at the inaugural edition of the Zim Afro T10 in grand style as they won a closely contested game against the Cape Town Samp Army by 8 runs, here.

The Qalandars, who had Tim Seifert get them off to a flyer, put in a team performance and survived a scare as the experienced Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel almost won it with a late counter-attack.

Batting first, under the lights, the Durban Qalandars were off to an absolute flyer, giving the packed house a lot to cheer about. Hazratullah Zazai and Tim Seifert were scoring at good clip right from the get-go, and dealt in boundaries from either end.

None of the Cape Town Samp Army bowlers were able to put the brakes on the opening batters, who were quick to put on a half-century stand, well before the five-over mark. With the fans cheering them on,...