Two days after gunning down a record 354 against Titans, Warriors’ batting line-up pulled off another exceptional chase to overhaul a target of 286 and pick up a bonus point against Lions in East-London.
The two-wicket win wasn’t enough to secure Warriors a semi-final spot, though, as Titans beat them to third place on the basis of their net run-rate, reports ESPNcricinfo.
As he had done against Titans, JJ Smuts got the chase off to a rousing start, putting on 126 with his opening partner Michael Price in just 17.3 overs. Both fell in the space of 14 balls, but Colin Ingram, the centurion against Titans, took control of the chase, scoring an unbeaten 70-ball 90 to guide Warriors home even as wickets kept falling at the other end. Legspinner Eddie Leie was Lions’ best bowler, with figures of 4 for 56.
Having chosen to bat, Lions were 46 for 2 before centuries from Rassie van der Dussen and Neil McKenzie powered them to a total of 285 for 4. Van der Dussen made an unbeaten 129 off 133 balls and McKenzie 112 off 114, the pair adding 209 for the third wicket in 34.4 overs.
A century from Vaughn van Jaarsveld laid the platform for Dolphins to beat Titans by 26 runs in Durban. The two teams, who finished second and third in the table, will face each other again in the semi-final on Tuesday.
Sent in to bat, Dolphins lost wickets regularly, with seamer Juan de Villiers removing both openers early in the process of picking up a four-for, but van Jaarsveld held their innings together before he was seventh out for 101. He had faced 118 balls, and struck six fours and two sixes.
Titans lost both their openers early, before a 150-run partnership between Theunis de Bruyn and Dean Elgar – who had also picked up three wickets with his left-arm spin – brought their chase back on track. They then lost four wickets for five runs, with medium-pacer Andile Phehlukwayo running through their middle order, and were in trouble at 169 for 6, with 93 required to win off the last eight overs. David Wiese smashed a 38-ball 50, but it wasn’t quite enough to get Titans in touch with their target.
