After losing their last five T20 matches on the bounce, the Dolphins showed their championship quality by beating the Warriors by 54 runs in Durban.

Morne van Wyk won the toss and decided to put the runs on the board. The captain and opening partner Cameron Delport both got starts, scoring 17 and 21, respectively. Cody Chetty added 22 in the No 3 position before the two mainstays of the innings met in the middle.

Vaughn van Jaarsveld and West Indian import Dwayne Bravo took the game away from the visitors. Bravo scored a 25-ball 43 on debut for the Dolphins, while van Jaarsveld finished undefeated on 51 off just 33 deliveries. Their powerful hitting at the death propelled the total to 181-4, which is out of reach more often than not on the coast.

The only real positive for the Warriors was the return from injury of death bowling specialist, Rusty Theron. He returned impressive figures of 1-25 in four overs, despite being asked to bowl while the slog was on. He will be vital in the remainder of the Warriors campaign.

The chase got off to a terrible start as England international, Craig Kieswetter, was back in the hut as early as the second over. A procession of wickets followed, leaving the scoreboard reading 33-5 in the eighth over. The match was over as a contest, and the only question that remained was how close the Warriors would get.

They ended up reaching 127-8 with a few contributions from the tail, falling 54 runs short. It wasn’t enough to prevent the Dolphins earning the bonus point, but it did save some embarrassment.

All the bowlers did a decent job, but Craig Alexander was the pick of the bunch. He got it through at good pace and recorded the impressive figures of 3-10 in his four overs.

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