Dane Vilas hit an unbeaten 105 runs from 70 balls to help the Cape Cobras beat the Warriors by five wickets in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.
Vilas smashed 11 fours and five sixes at a strike-rate of 150 to see his team reach their target of 257 with 15 balls to spare. He was well supported by his captain Justin Ontong, who scored an unbeaten 60.
Colin Ingram decided to bat first after winning the toss. The Warriors reached 256-8 thanks to Colin Ackermann’s 92 and Yaseen Vallie’s 58. Dane Paterson took 3-54 in his 10 overs with Wayne Parnell (2-47) and Tshepo Moreki (2-42) also contributing to the wickets column.
The Cobras got their chase off to a bad start and were in deep trouble on 96-5 before Vilas joined Ontong in the middle. Together they restored the innings and got things back on track before Vilas cut loose to transfer all the pressure back on to the bowlers.
The Warriors couldn’t contain him and in the end the Cobras chased down the target in 47.3 overs and with five wickets in hand.
The Cobras are still sitting comfortably on top of the One-Day Cup log with 33 points and have already secured a home final. The Lions, nine points behind in second place, will meet the Warriors in the knockout match.
