A lack of discipline in the field resulted in the Cobras losing their Group B match against the Hobart Hurricanes in Hyderabad.
Ben Dunk came out firing for the Hurricanes, taking the Australian side to 46-0 after four overs of their chase. The first wicket fell in the fifth over when Charl Langeveldt deceived Tim Paine with a knuckle ball that removed his middle stump.
Dunk continued on his merry way, reaching his half-century before falling to Sybrand Engelbrecht’s off-spin for a 35-ball 54. He came down the wicket and found the man on the long-off boundary after failing to get to the pitch. His departure left the Hobart Hurricanes on 91-2 after 10.2 overs and the game in the balance.
Engelbrecht continued his misery spell to put the Cobras is the pound seat. His four overs yielded figures of 3-20. However, his efforts were undone by a terrible 18th over. Vernon Philander was hit for a six off the first ball, before the second looked to have made the important breakthrough. The umpire checked upstairs, though, and a no-ball was confirmed. The over ended up going for 24 runs and breaking the back of the chase.
Aiden Blizzard, who was caught off Philander’s no-ball, took his side to a comfortable six-wicket victory with an over to spare. He finished on 78 of just 48 balls. The Cobras will now have to hope for results to go their way if they are going to qualify for the semi-finals.
Cobras Innings:
Justin Ontong won the toss and decided to put the runs on the board. Richard Levi, making his first appearance in the tournament, strode to the middle with Hashim Amla to open the batting. He bided his time at one end, while the fireworks happened at the other for the first four overs. Amla was bowled in the second over for eight and was replaced by Omphile Ramela. The left-hander then climbed into Doug Bollinger, striking 16 runs off three deliveries, before being bowled off the next for 21.
Levi started to get some strike towards the end of the powerplay and came into his own. He found the boundary regularly, before being caught in the leg-side trap off the first ball of the 10th over for a 30-ball 42. He walked off with the scoreboard reading 87-3.
The start provided by Ramela and Levi laid the foundation for a really big today. Just when it looked as if the middle order would put the foot on the accelerator, Ontong and Dane Vilas fell for 10 and 25, respectively. The wickets caused the innings to stutter, but a late onslaught from Robin Peterson and Vernon Philander helped the Cobras reach a very competitive 184-6 in their allotted overs.
Saffas in the CLT20:
The Kings XI Punjab got themselves into a spot of bother chasing the 175-run target set by the Barbados Tridents in their Group B match played in Punjab on Saturday. The Tridents’ spinners took wickets at regular intervals, but South African David Miller bided his time before cutting loose at the death to take his side home. He hit a six to seal the victory, finishing on 46 off 34 deliveries, and collected the Man of the Match Award.
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