After Westerns had been bowled out for 116 mostly by Trevor Garwe (who was also the leading wicket-taker in this tournament) who took 4–23, Mbekezeli, along with Njabulo Ncube (who provided the key strike) dismantled the Northerns batting line-up to bring victory to their team by four runs.
[27] Particularly effective against them was Eagle's bowler Ray Price who downed them by 82 runs at Harare taking remarkable figures of 5/12 in just 17 deliveries finishing off the game by the stumping of Natsai Mushangwe.
After bowling out their vaunted opponents for just 105 with Greg Smith taking 3/11 and Prosper Utseya 3/24, they cruised to the target as renowned internationals and former schoolmates Hamilton Masakadza (64*) and Tatenda Taibu (37*) took their team to the inaugural Stanbic Bank 20 Series title.
However, they exceeded all expectations to finish third first in the group stage, then defeating the much more vaunted Matabeleland Tuskers (who won the tournament just a season back in 2008–09 as Westerns) by 31 runs.
The final at Harare Sports Club between the Mountaineers and Eagles attracted an audience of 7500, which is the biggest attendance ever for a domestic match in living memory.
Anthony Ireland and Ian Harvey appeared for the Southern Rocks, Dougie Marillier for Mash Eagles, Andy Blignaut for Matabeleland Tuskers, Greg Smith for the Mountaineers and Darren Stevens and Ollie Rayner for Kwekwe's MidWest Rhinos.
In a bid to win the tournament, Southern Rocks signed both former West Indian legend Brian Lara (who holds the record for the highest ever Test cricket score of 400*), and a former English deadly fast bowler named Ryan Sidebottom.
[34] A number of other players were also attracted in the tournament, for example, Netherlands and Essex all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, Nick Compton, Liam Dawson, Andrew Hall, Paul Horton, and Lou Vincent.
[38] In the third-place playoff, the Tuskers defeated the Rocks by a massive nine-wickets with Charles Coventry leading the way with 67* off 40 balls, and shared a 126-run partnership with Paul Horton who scored a half-century (56*) of his own.
[40] And an unforgettable finish was made in an already memorable tournament when after the innings break in the final, Grant Flower was taken in a guard of honor as he left the field.
International players Ryan ten Doeschate, Lou Vincent, Paul Horton, Liam Dawson and Andrew Hall were retained from the previous season.
[44][45] The tournament kicked off on 25 November 2011 and saw both Njabulo Ncube and Natsai Mushangwe star as Mountaineers and Matabeleland Tuskers defeated Mid West Rhinos and Mashonaland Eagles respectively.
[46] At the halfway stage, it seemed that Tuskers were the most dominant team and their strong side consisting international players unbalancing the tournament.
[48][49] Mashonaland Eagles staged a comeback after losing all their initial matches[clarification needed] they made it through to the playoff final by defeating Mid West Rhinos by 53 runs,[50] against Matabeleland Tuskers.
There they defeated the Tuskers by 23 runs (Duckworth–Lewis method) despite Chris Gayle's half-century, and another by Steven Trenchard, as they already had compiled a massive 207/7 thanks to Ryan ten Doeschate's 121* of 58.
It will be a historic occasion as for the first time, youngsters can take center stage at a national event in the country and in a tournament which witnessed a record turnout in the final of the 2009–10 Stanbic Bank 20 Series.
[56] Originally the T20 tournament was scheduled to open the Zimbabwean 2017–18 domestic calendar in September 2017, but it was moved back to April as it clashed with other T20 competitions being held.