Marchant de Lange took a career-best 7-76 as the Titans maintained their position at the top of the Sunfoil log with a three-day whipping of the hapless Knights on Saturday.
With his four wickets from the Knights first inning, he ended with 11-110. But the foundations of that success was laid with an unbeaten stand of 254 between Heino Kuhn (151) and Theunis de Bruyn (150) which enabled the Titans to declare their second innings at 368-2, offering the Knights an impossible target of 524. They ended 359 short.
De Bruyn was particularly aggressive, smashing 18 fours and three sixes off 174 balls for his fifth first-class hundred. Kuhn was more circumspect, moving on from 71 overnight to complete his 18th first-class hundred.
Ethy Mbhalati opened the way for De Lange’s blitz by taking out the openers, Reeza Hendricks and Letlotlo Sesele, with 54 on the board.
The Cape Cobras were heading for a defeat after the Highveld Lions bundled them out for 258 and enforced the follow-on, 322 runs behind. Of that meagre total, Andrew Puttick scored 73 and Wayne Parnell, batting at 7, scored 62 off 126 balls (13×4), showing what was possible.
Hardus Viljoen, who took 2-57 in the first innings, stepped up again to take 3-23, removing the openers with nine runs on the board, as the Cobras struggled to 186-6 at the close. Once again, Parnell (39 not out) was providing the backbone, although there had been better efforts from Omphile Ramela (47) and Stiaan van Zyl (35). They need 136 runs to make the Lions bat again.
In East London, the Warriors were on the brink of their sixth defeat in six matches after losing seven wickets for 137 runs in their follow-on innings enforced by the Dolphins.
They had a thoroughly miserable day, coming out to bat after the Dolphins declared at 450-8 at close of play on Friday. Their first innings lasted just 45 overs, during which they managed to scrape together 209. And that was due to a fighting unbeaten 86 from Yaseen Vallie. The end was delayed by a carefree 29 of 21 balls from last man Basheeru-Deen Walters, who helped Vallie take the score from 167-9 to 209.
Second time around, the Warriors weren’t much better with only Jerry Nqolo holding out for an unbeaten 54. Daryn Dupavillon, who took 5-49 in the first innings, ended with 2-28 on Saturday night.
