In an eventful beginning to the franchise T20 tournament, the Titans and Dolphins managed to score rather straightforward victories against the Knights and Cobras respectively to kick off their campaigns.
Initially, the Knights were off to a rapid start, even though they lost Jacques Snyman early. Patrick Kruger and Andries Gous regularly cleared the boundary, but after Kruger’s fall in the fifth over, skipper Pite van Biljon played a solid hand to lay down the platform.
Gous holed out to Markram at long-on in the quest for more maximums, and that brought about a procession, as Tabraiz Shamsi ran through the middle order and a once-promising beginning turned into a downward spiral. The Knights would fold for a modest 116.
However, the fight wasn’t over, as Migael Pretorius took three quick wickets with the new ball, and it looked like the Titans would struggle to chase 117. However, the vast experience of Proteas Test opener Dean Elgar and captain Heinrich Klaasen helped steady the ship with a 76-run stand. Elgar did well to occupy the crease, while Klaasen played the big shots when required. Following Elgar’s run-out, an unbeaten 8-ball 21 from veteran allrounder Chris Morris ensured that the Titans would comfortably make it over the line.
Knights 116 (Gous 35, van Biljon 33 – Shamsi 3/20, Ngidi 2/19)
Titans 117/4 (Klaasen 54*, Elgar 37 – M Pretorius 3/26)
It was a game of spin domination, as the home team bagged their first victory as well, courtesy a stellar performance from yet another Proteas star, Keshav Maharaj.
The Dolphins struggled with the bat, as wickets regularly fell in the first 10 overs. It took a smart counterattack from the experienced Khaya Zondo (59 from 39, 6 fours and 2 sixes) to prop up his team to a competitive and potentially defendable score. The highlight of the first innings came in the final over, when the rookie Cobras left-arm spinner Siyabonga Mahima took a hat-trick to claim the wickets of Rob Frylinck, Khaya Zondo, and Prenelan Subrayen.
Over to the chase, the Cobras were rocked early when Maharaj went through the defenses of Zubayr Hamza. Tony de Zorzi and Kyle Verreynne did well to build a partnership, but the asking rate was gradually increasing, and the return of Maharaj was the undoing for them both. It certainly was spin for the win – Prenelan Subrayen took a wicket but also conceded just the 19 runs in his 4-over quota. Christiaan Jonker struck a few lusty blows, but couldn’t find a reliable partner at the other end to provide support. Ultimately, the Cobras fell short by 14 runs.
It’s quite an interesting situation with Maharaj stepping up so brilliantly. Tabraiz Shamsi is, of course, the first-choice Proteas spinner in the shorter formats, and George Linde has made plenty of progress as the second spinner. Should Maharaj maintain this sort of consistency over the course of the entire tournament, we’re in for an intriguing selection headache for the T20 World Cup.
Dolphins 155/8 (Zondo 59 – Mahima 4/18)
Cape Cobras 141/7 (Jonker 41*, de Zorzi 39 – Maharaj 4/15)
Photo: Steve Haag/BackpagePix
