Takashinga Patriots 1 have thrown down an early marker in the National Premier League Super 40 title race, stretching their perfect start to three wins from three matches while defending champions Rangers suffered a second successive defeat to slip further off the pace.
Just months after finishing runners-up to Rangers in last season's competition, Takashinga have returned looking like a side determined to reclaim the crown.
Saturday's comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Scorpions in Masvingo lifted them to 12 points, four clear of the chasing pack, with an impressive net run rate of 2.646.
Rangers, who dominated the 2025 campaign to win their maiden National Premier League title with 12 victories from 13 matches and 24 points, have endured a faltering start to their title defence.
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Back-to-back defeats have left them with just one win from their opening three matches and in eighth place on the table, exposing vulnerabilities that were largely absent during their championship-winning campaign.
Takashinga's latest success was built on a strong opening spell from Kundai Matigimu, whose pace ripped through the Scorpions' top order. Matigimu claimed the first four wickets to leave Scorpions reeling before Derrick Sadoki launched a spirited rescue act with a brilliant 72 off 52 balls. Together with Fortune Mhlanga's 41, Sadoki dragged the innings from the brink to a respectable 151.
The chase, however, underlined why Takashinga sit atop the standings. Zimbabwe internationals Joylord Gumbie and Tafadzwa Tsiga shared a commanding 102-run opening partnership, with Gumbie making 64 and Tsiga adding 39 as the target was reached with more than 20 overs to spare.
The result suggests Rangers' biggest concern is no longer simply losing matches but an inability to produce the consistency that defined last season's title-winning run.
Gladiators also strengthened their position near the top with a 45-run victory over Amakhosi 1 at Kwekwe Sports Club. Half-centuries from Ashley Mufandauya and Owen Muzondo powered Gladiators to 216 for seven before Munashe Chipoyi's four-wicket haul triggered a dramatic batting collapse that saw Amakhosi lose their last five wickets for just 12 runs.
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