Kieron Pollard smashed 39 off 12 balls to seal an eight-wicket win for the Cape Cobras over the Knights in a bottom-of-the-table clash in the CSA T20 series at Newlands.
Four sixes and three fours crossed the ropes as he made sure the Cobras gained a bonus point with 32 balls remaining.
He was given a solid platform after Richard Levi contributed 58 off 32 in an opening stand of 78 with Wayne Parnell as the Cobras chased an inadequate 147 for victory.
Parnell’s 3-20 had earlier led the way for the Cobras after the Knights, now firmly rooted at the bottom of the table, had chosen to bat.
The Knights may even have felt comfortable when Patrick Kruger and Theunis de Bruyn put on 83 for the second wicket after losing Rudi Second to Rory Kleinveldt with just 11 on the board.
But when Kruger, one of the bright young prospects on the South African scene, was bowled by Pollard for 42 off 34 (6×4, 2×6), the slide began. There was no David Miller, or Rilee Rossouw, who were both out injured.
De Bruyn tried to hang in, but from 94-1, the Knights folded. Parnell started the mayhem by dismissing Leus du Plooy for one. De Bruyn was out for 52 off 41 (4×4, 2×6) – the second of Pollard’s 2-18 off three – and thereafter only Shadley van Schalkwyk (10) went into double figures.
This victory, the Cobras’ second in a row after beating the Dolphins, and their third in the series leaves them with an outside chance of qualifying for the play-off, but they will still need to win their remaining matches and hope that others fall by the wayside.
Photo: Chris Ricco/BackpagePix
