Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi is hoping for a more clinical display from his team when they welcome the Dolphins to SuperSport Park for round two of the One-Day Cup in Centurion on Friday.

The defending champions suffered a 73-run loss to their rivals, the Lions, in their derby opener a week ago, making it a negative start to the campaign.

However, there were plenty of positive things that transpired in the game – the fact that they bowled out the opposition inside 50 overs and also the way in which they started the run chase by reaching 105-1 inside the first 20 overs.

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But they could not complete the job and Mashimbyi admits they have to be better this week.

‘I thought we were in the game and should have closed it out, so that was disappointing,’ he reflected. ‘But it’s still early in the competition, just one game, so we’ll look to bounce back immediately in this one.’

The Dolphins, on the other hand, won their first match by trouncing the Knights in Durban last Saturday.

‘We don’t look too much at the opposition,’ Mashimbyi added. ‘The Dolphins had a good win in their first game so, yes, they’re a good team, but we’re confident in what we’ve got going at the Titans.

‘We’ll look to be more clinical in this game, execute our skills and hopefully get that first win.’

Meanwhile, visiting captain Keshav Maharaj was happy with their start, but knows that they now need to follow that up with another good showing on the Highveld.

‘Yes, it was great to start so well with that win,’ the spinner stated. ‘But I think if you want to go far in the tournament then it boils down to whether you play consistently good cricket or not.

‘The winner is usually the team that is consistent. The boys have had a few days off since the last game and we’re now rejuvenated and ready to take on the Titans.’

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