The wheels on the Cobras machine kept rolling as they beat the Knights by 73 runs at Newlands on Wednesday night to secure their spot at the top of the Momentum One Day Cup table.
The Knights pursuit of 286 got off to a solid start. The openers reached 79 before the part-time seam of Stiaan van Zyl got rid of the big fish, Reeza Hendricks, for 23. Gerhardt Abrahams kicked on to score a 64-ball 62, before he chipped a Robin Peterson delivery down long-off’s throat.
A procession of wickets followed and by the time the batting power play came around, the only question was whether the Cobras would earn a bonus point. Pite van Biljon dug in and showed some fight, before falling for a 67-ball 49. His contribution wasn’t enough, however, to prevent the Cobras recording another bonus point.
The Knights were eventually dismissed for 212 in the 46th over. All the bowling figures were respectable, but Mthokozisi Shezi returned the best set of numbers. He claimed 4-38 from one delivery shy of his 10 over ration.
Earlier, Justin Ontong won the toss and chose to put the runs on the board. The top four all got starts, three of them getting out in the twenties, which saw the innings stutter at 148-5 in the 37th over.
At this stage Sybrand Engelbrecht joined Dane Vilas in the middle. The two ran the fielders ragged, stealing quick singles and turning ones into two’s at will. They then exploded in the last five overs, bringing up their half-centuries and posting 285-5 at the end of the allotted overs.
Engelbrecht scored 68 off 52 balls, while Vilas smashed 77 off just 47 deliveries. It’s notoriously difficult to bat under lights at Newlands and the partnership at the death elevated the score to a winning one.
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