The Wanderers staged a triple-header on Sunday to open the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, where the Knights, Cobras and Lions registered wins.

In the morning match, the Knights 74-run victory over the Warriors earned them a bonus point. After being inserted, the Knights opening pair of Rudi Second and Gerhardt Abrahams scored 32 and 48, respectively. Diego Rosier then finished the innings off with an unbeaten 27-ball 55 to post an imposing 205-5.

The Warriors were never in the chase, losing JJ Smuts as early as the second ball of the innings. The only batsmen who came to terms with the wicket was Craig Kieswetter, but his 51 off 38 deliveries was only enough to help the side to 131 all out. All the bowlers claimed a wicket, but Dillon du Preez was the best of the bunch with figures of 4-25 in four overs.

The afternoon match saw the Cobras take on the Titans. Richard Levi showed why he is regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen in the world, crashing 81 at the top of the order off just 34 balls. The middle-order struggled, but West Indian import Kieron Pollard cashed in at the death. His unbeaten 36-ball 72 took the total to 207-5 at the end of 20 overs.

The Titans were on track to pull off a special chase as Henry Davids and Dean Elgar both scored 72 off 48 deliveries. Pollard completed a wonderful all-round performance on debut for the Cobras by getting rid of both openers in his four over spell of 3-22. Those four overs changed the momentum of the match and helped restrict the Titans to 193-4, handing the Cobras a 14-run victory.

In the evening game, a Chris Gayle inspired Lions beat the defending champion Dolphins by six wickets. Morne van Wyk won the toss and elected to bat first. Cody Chetty and Vaughn van Jaarsveld were the main contributors with 68 and 40, respectively. Their efforts enabled the Dolphins to post a par 172-9 in their 20 overs.

The reply saw the Lions slump to 36-3, but while Gayle was in the middle the hosts were still in the game. Jean Symes stuck around with the big West Indian and the two shifted the game in the Lions favour. Gayle was eventually dismissed for a 38-ball 56, but Symes’ unbeaten 58 off 50 deliveries saw the team home with seven balls to spare.

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