Warriors captain JJ Smuts scored 38 and took 2-22 to guide his side to a 42-run win over the Knights.
It was another bonus-point win for the side from the Eastern Cape, who opened the campaign in such fashion against the Dolphins last week. It was the all-round efforts of Smuts (54 and 1-18) that helped them then, and it was another influential shift from the skipper in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
A 47-run stand inside the first six overs between Smuts and Somila Seyibokwe (29 off 21) got the side off to a breezy start, but Christiaan Jonker was the star of the innings, smacking four fours and two sixes on his way to 48 not out off 27 balls, which included 20 off the 18th over. That was enough to get the side to 157-5.
Nicky Boje’s Knights were without the services of David Miller, who smashed 120 not out in a losing cause against the Titans on Friday, and they never got going in the chase, losing the top three for single figures, Basheer Walters with all three scalps.
Andrew Birch and Sisanda Magala proved excellent foils to Walters exploits, as Magala only conceded 15 runs from his three overs, taking two wickets and contributing to the escalating required run rate. Rudi Second and Patrick Botha both scored 25, but there wasn’t a single six from the entire innings, as Birch (2-24) cleaned up the tail to leave the Knights 42 runs short.
The match between the Lions and the Cobras meanwhile turned into an entertaining affair after rain threatened to call it off.
The Lions, in desperate search of their first T20 Challenge win of the season, posted a respectable 165-5 with five balls of their innings remaining before the rain came.
Mangaliso Mosehle fired 58 from 40 balls and Nicky van den Bergh was on 35 not out from 20 balls, while Rory Kleinveldt and Kieron Pollard picked up two wickets apiece. Cobras Sunfoil Series captain Omphile Ramela, on loan to the Lions, somewhat bizarrely made his debut against his other employers, but could only score 13 off 17 deliveries.
The revised total then left the Cobras needing 70 from six overs, and they looked to be on track, racing to 30-1 off two overs. Lions skipper Aaron Phangiso did brilliantly to concede just six runs off the penultimate over. With the Cobras needing 15 off the final over, 18-year-old Wiaan Mulder held his nerve to bowl George Linde off the final delivery to leave their opponents four runs short of the mark.
Photo: Frikkie Kapp/Getty Images
