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The Titans beat the Lions by 45 runs to win the MiWay T20 challenge final at the Wanderers on Sunday to mark the end of South Africa’s domestic season

Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers01-Apr-2012
ScorecardThe Titans beat the Lions by 45 runs to win the MiWay T20 challenge final at the Wanderers on Sunday to mark the end of South Africa’s domestic season. Both teams qualify for the Champions League T20 in September.Fad du Plessis spun the Titans to victory with a return of 4 for 24 after his team posted an imposing 187 for 6, batting on the same pitch that was used for the Twenty20 between South Africa and India on Friday night. The Titans had the advantage from the get-go when Lions’ international signing Dirk Nannes was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury. Ethan O’Reilly replaced Nannes and battled with his lengths throughout, conceding 45 runs in his three overs.Henry Davids and Heino Kuhn started aggressively, blasting 42 off the first 20 balls, before Davids was bowled off the pad by Chris Morris. Kuhn was caught behind in the next over and Roelof van der Merwe holed out to deep midwicket two overs after that, off the bowling of Aaron Phangiso.The left-arm spinner was the Lions’ only economical bowler, giving away just 14 runs in four-over spell. Dwaine Pretoris chipped in with the wicket of du Plessis, who Pretorius dropped the ball before the South African middle-order batsman pulled to Morris in the deep. The wickets allowed the Lions to pull things back and they had the Titans cornered at 115 for 5 after 15 overs.Farhaan Behardien shared in two sizeable partnerships to ensure the score soared. He put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket with Albie Morkel and 33 for the seventh, in 14 balls. The Titans blasted 72 runs off the last five overs, in which the Lions dropped Behardien once and had him caught off a no-ball from Pakistan international Sohail Tanvir.The Lions made an already tough task even more difficult as they collapsed to 24 for 3 after three overs. Jonathan Vandiar was caught at third man off the second ball of the innings and Alviro Petersen and Quinton de Kock were both victims of Albie Morkel in the same over.Neil McKenzie and Jean Symes put the Lions back on track with a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket, the biggest of the match. Then, the dominoes began to fall. Symes was bowled by a du Plessis googly that kept low and Pretorius went the same way, in the same over. When Neil McKenzie was bowled, by Roelof van der Merwe in the next over, the Lions’ fate had been decided. du Plessis added the scalps of Morris and Thami Tsolekile to his haul to finish as the second highest wicket-taker for the Titans in the competition.The Titans have enjoyed their most successful summer in three seasons. They also won this season’s first-class competition, the SuperSport Series, under new coach Matthew Maynard. The Titans will now compete in their first Champions League. They were due to play in the 2008 version which was cancelled after terror attacks in Mumbai.The Lions defeat extends their trophy drought to six years. The last cup they won was in 2006, when they beat the Cobras in the final of the domestic twenty-over competition. They have had some recent success though and qualified for the Champions League T20 two seasons ago, when they lost to the Warriors in the final.

Phillip Hughes will spend the entire 2012 season at Worcestershire after extending his contract with the county

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2012Phillip Hughes will spend the entire 2012 season at Worcestershire after extending his contract with the county. Hughes, the 23-year-old Australia opener who was dropped from the Test team after a disappointing series against New Zealand, had originally agreed to join Worcestershire in June but has now agreed to arrive in the UK at the start of April.The attractions of the relationship are obvious to both parties. Hughes, whose technique has been exposed somewhat at international level, will have plenty of opportunity to learn to deal with the moving ball in English conditions, while Worcestershire’s brittle batting will be boosted by the addition of a player good enough to have scored two centuries in a Test against a formidable South African attack. Hughes’ presence at New Road for the entire season will also alleviate the disruption sometimes caused by the short-term nature of many modern overseas player contracts.”We are delighted to have available a player of Phil’s stature for the whole 2012 season,” said Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes. “This was our original plan when we first set out in search of Phil’s signature and it will give the dressing room a real boost. Having spoken to Phil he views playing a full English season as a fantastic opportunity to score plenty of runs and in turn, it is hoped this will bring success to the team. We are looking forward to him joining up with the squad at the start of April for what will be an exciting 2012 season.”Hughes also expressed his delight. “I’m thrilled to have been able to agree terms with Worcestershire to extend my 2012 contract to the full county season,” he said. “I haven’t played a full season of domestic cricket for more than two years and I can’t wait to get to England and meet my new team-mates. I’ve heard so many positive things about their structure, environment and wicket which are all really favourable for what I want to achieve in the coming 12 months.”Meanwhile Gareth Andrew will miss the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery. Andrew, the 28-year-old all-rounder, who finished the 2011 season second in county cricket’s Most Valuable Player ratings, underwent micro-fracture treatment in early December. Worcestershire do not expect him to be match fit until late May.

Legspinner Tarun Nethula has said he was surprised to know he’d been picked in the New Zealand squad for the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe starting on Friday

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2012Legspinner Tarun Nethula has said he was surprised to know he’d been picked in the New Zealand squad for the three-ODI series against Zimbabwe starting on Friday. It would have been be less of a surprise, he said, if he had been called up to the Test squad.”It was more a surprise because I’d never really put myself into contention for the limited-overs format,” Nethula told the . “I didn’t make any winter tours, either for the A side or Emerging Players. I thought there were a couple [of players] ahead of me. It took a while to sink in.”Nethula, 28, was born in Hyderabad but moved to New Zealand at the age of 11. He picked up 28 wickets in the 2008-09 season for Auckland, helping them with the first-class competition, and then moved to Central Districts.”The main reason was to try and really challenge myself to play all forms of the game,” Nethula said, explaining the reason behind his move. “I was desperate to play limited-overs cricket. Auckland had an abundance of allrounders and spinners. I approached CD and I’m quite grateful they gave me an opportunity.”Nethula has played 27 first-class matches, picking up 78 wickets at 35.92. He’s played fewer List A games, taking 17 wickets in 12 matches, and has 10 wickets in nine Twenty20 games. His aim is to keep his place in the squad for New Zealand’s winter tours to West Indies, India, Sri Lanka and South Africa.”It is one of my goals to finish the season in a really strong manner and put myself in the frame to get on a winter tour,” Nethula said. “If there is an opening for a second spinner, I definitely want to be the one putting my hand up. But it’s baby steps for now.”Nethula will not be playing the first ODI against Zimbabwe in Dunedin, as he’s not been picked in the squad of 12 for the game.

MS Dhoni says that India’s young players should not put pressure on themselves as they will gain experience whether or not they get big scores

Sriram Veera in Barbados27-Jun-2011Finally, beach cricket has been spotted in the Caribbean. They say cricket is disappearing off the streets and beaches but one needs to visit the West Indies to see just how alarming the situation is. In the Trinidad streets it was about music, Antigua was a big village with some pretty beaches, Jamaica wore its heart on its streets. Barbados, though, fits the outsider’s perception about the Caribbean. Beach. Music. And cricket.And bounce. Barbados also promises to present the cricket pitch with the most bounce in the West Indies. The Kensington Oval, re-built before the 2007 World Cup, is a pretty stadium. It is modern and there might be those who lament changing the original ground, but the structure as it stands today looks nice. The curator says it will definitely be a result pitch. MS Dhoni, the India captain, agrees. India are thinking of going with three seamers. Munaf Patel bowled for a long time in the nets and was at his accurate best, extracting bounce from a length.It’s not the bowling but the batting that presents a few concerns for India. M Vijay is yet to click, Abhinav Mukund is yet to settle in, Virat Kohli has a point to prove, Dhoni needs a score, and Suresh Raina, despite his 82 at Sabina Park, will know that the West Indies seamers will come hard at him. The pitch should suit VVS Laxman’s style of play and it will be a surprise if he doesn’t get runs here.The Indian camp seems pretty relaxed though. They have practised hard; their training sessions have extended past three hours at times. Even while still in Kingston, they used the extra day after the four-day finish to practise on the centre pitch. Duncan Fletcher, the coach, hovers around, often getting into a one-on-one chat with a batsman, Eric Simons, the bowling coach, does his job, and Trevor Penny, the fielding coach, tells anecdotes and cricket stories to some of the youngsters. It looks and feels like a happy camp. Winning can do that.”Enjoy your cricket” is a bit of a mantra with this Indian team and Dhoni spoke a bit about his approach to handling the youngsters and how he tries to put them at ease. “Most of my chats with them are informal,” Dhoni said. “I don’t believe in calling someone and having a big chat because that puts a lot of added pressure on them. If somebody is doing something or involved in fielding practice then a little chit-chat at that time helps because it’s informal and doesn’t add any pressure.”Players like Abhinav Mukund will gain from playing Test cricket•Associated PressHow does he help the youngsters handle the pressure? Someone like Vijay could sweat over the lack of runs. Abhinav might put himself under pressure thinking he has to show his worth with a big score before Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir return. Kohli might think he needs to show he can play the short ball. These are all possibilities but Dhoni was confident that such insecurities won’t slip into the minds of the youngsters.”What is important is to not get desperate to score runs because then you just put pressure on yourself. Test cricket is different. There is a bit of extra pressure compared to the ODIs or the T20 format. It is very important to relax and enjoy the game.”Dhoni also said that, whether they succeeded or not, some of the young players who are in the squad as replacements for regular members will gain from the experience of playing international cricket. “At the end of the day, they will be winners because they are getting a fair amount of exposure to international cricket. Of course we will have our regular openers -Gambhir and Sehwag – back. But the youngsters would have seen what international cricket is, and how players score runs in these big matches. They will know what they need to improve on. So overall it’s a big positive for us.”Dhoni said he doesn’t try to fit the players into a framework. “Every character is different in and that’s what we respect in this side. Everyone is free to be himself. We don’t want anyone to change in a big way. For a fraction of time you can change yourself but if you are going to be in the team for a long time, then we need to accept each and every individual in the way they are.”The way the [young] guys have conducted themselves on and off the field has been a big positive and I think they are learning a lot out of these games. Hopefully, the youngsters will back up their efforts so far in this match.”

A round-up of the fifth match day of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2011Karachi Dolphins moved into the semi-finals of the Faysal Bank super Eight T20 tournament with the biggest win in Pakistan’s domestic Twenty20 history, thrashing Faisalabad Wolves by 124 runs at the Iqbal Stadium. Opener Shahzaib Hasan was the chief destroyer, muscling 69 off just 28 balls to power Karachi to a massive 231. In reply, Faisalabad were rolled over for 107, bowled out in the 14th over with fast bowler Sohail Khan and offspinner Haaris Ayaz taking three wickets each.The carnage began in the third over after Karachi chose to bat, with Shahzaib slamming Mohammad Talha for 26 runs. Shahzaib reached his fifty as early as the fifth over, and Karachi’s 100 came up in the eighth. Khalid Latif took over once Shahzaib was dismissed in the seventh over, clubbing five sixes in a 26-ball 46. Faisalabad hit back with four wickets in two overs, but cameos from Mohammad Sami and Ayaz pushed Karachi to the biggest total of the tournament.Faisalabad’s chase was rocked early as the openers were dismissed in the second over, and the big names, Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq, also perished cheaply. They moved to 84 for 4 in the eighth over before the challenge petered out, the final six wickets going down for 23 runs.

Rawalpindi Rams joined Karachi in the semi-finals by cruising to a seven-wicket victory over Multan Tigers in the final league match of Group B. Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan ran through the Multan middle order to set up the win.Multan began what was virtually a quarter-final match steadily, if not spectacularly, reaching 51 for 0 in the seventh over. It was mostly downhill for Multan after that; first they lost both openers in the space of five deliveries as they slid to 54 for 3. Naved Yasin and Zeeshan Ashraf crafted a patient recovery before another collapse. This time the damage was 7 for 26 as Raza struck four times.That left Rawalpindi needing only 129 to make the semi-finals. They had a bit of a stutter as their openers departed after a bright start. It was easy for Rawalpindi after that, losing only one more wicket before Jamal Anwar and Sohail Tanvir put on 73 to confirm Multan’s exit.

South Africa’s home Test series against Australia will be played over just two matches

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2011South Africa’s home Test series against Australia will be played over just two matches – as opposed to the customary three of recent times – with a packed international cricket calendar being offered as the reason. The truncated schedule will be formally announced on Friday by officials of the two boards and from Sri Lanka, who are also involved in series against both countries.”Because of the fixture list, we have to have two Tests this time but the next time Australia tour South Africa they will play four Tests here, because they will owe us one,” Gerald Majola, CEO of Cricket South Africa, told ESPNcricinfo.South Africa and Australia have played three-Test series in every encounter between the two countries since South Africa’s re-admission to international cricket in 1992, often as back-to-back home and away series.The removal of one Test from the traditional program is confirmed in the ICC’s Future Tours Program, which states South Africa “host Australia, two Tests, two T20s, three ODIs”. ODIs and T20 have commonly been used as a tour revenue counter-balance for the fluctuating crowds commonly witnessed at Tests in the rainbow nation.The two-Test series is scheduled for October, which could overlap with, or run very close to, the Champions League Twenty20, in which Australia and South Africa are financial partners with India.However, officials say that is not seen as a significant factor in the Tests being pruned. Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association, pointed to the amount of cricket to be played in that time, with South Africa hosting Australia and Sri Lanka, an ODI series against West Indies and a tour of New Zealand.”October to February is an extremely heavy period of scheduling,” Irish said. “The Champions League Twenty20 was not a point of discussion from our point of view.”Paul Marsh, the Australian Cricketers Association CEO, took a slightly differing view, saying the problems of a schedule swollen by non-FTP events and series, including the Champions League, had not helped.”It’s not ideal,” Marsh said. “There is too much in the schedule, and decisions like these are due to the amount of non-FTP cricket being played, including the Champions League and the Indian Premier League.”The next FTP, which is still to be finalised despite coming into effect in less than a year, is far from guaranteed to offer an improved or more equitable schedule, as national boards weigh their own self-interest against the demands of the ICC’s world Test and ODI championships.The Champions League did play a role in Australia’s Test cricket last year, when the key duo of Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger gave up their preparation for a Test series in India by staying on at the Champions League in South Africa with their IPL team, the Chennai Super Kings. Having arrived a mere two days before the first Test at Mohali, in vastly different conditions, neither man could contribute strongly to Australia’s cause.Bollinger suffered a side strain on the final day as Australia pressed for victory, and his absence was keenly felt as India wriggled free to win by one wicket. He subsequently struggled with his fitness across the home summer, and made nowhere near the Ashes impact he could rightly have been expected to.

Western Australia won their first Sheffield Shield victory of the season and provided a promising start to Justin Langer’s tenure as coach with a 110-run defeat of South Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2012Western Australia 9 for 400 dec and 191 defeated South Australia 237 and 244 (Head 95*, Klinger 56, Johnson 3-52) by 110 runs
ScorecardTravis Head’s 95 could not stave off defeat•Getty ImagesWestern Australia won their first Sheffield Shield victory of the season and provided a promising start to Justin Langer’s tenure as coach with a 110-run defeat of South Australia in Perth.Langer will formally take the reins for Sunday’s domestic limited overs match against SA but he was announced to be taking the role during the match, in which the Warriors recovered from a third day stumble to claim regular wickets on the final day and close out the result.The young SA batsman Travis Head offered sternest resistance with a bold 95 that featured three sixes, while Michael Klinger weighed in with 56.However the WA bowlers produced a strong collective effort as five men claimed wickets, Mitchell Johnson nipping out three of the last four wickets as SA went from 6 for 225 to 244 all out.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town

The Preview by Daniel Brettig08-Nov-2011Match factsSouth Africa v Australia, November 9-13, Cape Town
Start time 1030 (0830 GMT)Will Mitchell Johnson be as fearsome as he was two years ago?•AFPBig PictureWhoever heard of a heavyweight bout scheduled to be played over two rounds? Even before South Africa and Australia begin the first Test in Cape Town, the abiding sentiment among the two teams is that the series they are about to play in will be an incomplete contest. The series was squeezed to two matches from the original three by the Champions League Twenty20 and South Africa’s desire to play T20 internationals in addition to ODIs. With all this in mind, the players’ best avenue to ensuring future series are played over three matches is to make sure the cricket played in these two is vibrant, undulating, and tough.Fortunately South Africa and Australia have a history of providing exactly that over 18 years since they resumed Test match combat in 1993-94. Australia have won a majority of the series between the two sides, but South Africa have also landed plenty of blows, not least in 2008 when they became the first team to win a series in Australia since 1993. Australia responded by winning the return series in 2009, with a formula not dissimilar to the one that will be utilised this time. As in 2009, Australia will enter the series with a less impressive team on paper but a little more match hardness than their opponents, who have not played a Test since January. The agile captaincy of Australia’s new leader Michael Clarke will provide another rich sub-plot.At the top of the order, Phillip Hughes will want to emulate his memorable debut in that series, though mindful that South Africa’ bowlers now have a far better idea of how to bowl to him. Shane Watson and Ricky Ponting will also want runs after a quiet series in Sri Lanka, while Shaun Marsh can stamp himself firmly on the No. 3 spot by performing with similar assurance to that he showed on the subcontinent. With the ball Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson appear an ideal duo for Clarke to attack with, but questions remain over how they will be augmented, with the energy of Peter Siddle competing against the sly mediums of Trent Copeland. Nathan Lyon has a mid-term mortgage on the spinner’s spot, provided he can keep contributing.South Africa have made one significant change, recalling Jacques Rudolph, and are likely to make another by handing spin duties to the legspinner Imran Tahir. His inclusion gives the South Africans arguably the most complete attack they have had since rejoining Test cricket, as an accomplished, attacking spin bowler rather than the finger-spinning fighters – Paul Harris, Nicky Boje and Pat Symcox to name three – before him. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel have been warming up for the contest, adamant they will not allow Hughes in particular the sort of latitude he had two years ago. Ponting and Clarke will also be in their sights, though greater fireworks may be seen on Johannesburg’s livelier pitch in the second Test.Form guideSouth Africa: DLWDD
Australia: DDWLLIn the spotlightGraeme Smith gave up the ODI and T20 captaincy to give himself more room to concentrate on Tests, and after an extended break now is his time to make good on that promise. Runs at the top of the order, in a series when the bowlers on both sides are fresh and in decent rhythm on what are expected to be helpful pitches, will be sought after, and Smith will have the added requirement of shepherding a new opening partner. As a leader, Smith will be up against an opposite number in Michael Clarke, who has only led his country in four Tests but has already showed enormous natural flair for the role, and who will endeavour to make his opposite number look flat-footed in terms of tactics, much as he did to Tillakaratne Dilshan in Sri Lanka.Ricky Ponting isn’t one for reading too many stories about himself, which this week is just as well. There have been plenty of questioning pieces written about Ponting, suggesting he is in the twilight of a Test career that has spanned 15 years and has now gone beyond the captaincy, something no Australian captain has done at length in the past 30 years. His batting mechanics remain sound enough, but Ponting’s once faultless shot selection and concentration remains in the clouded zone it occupied during the final months of his captaincy. A long innings could bring it all back, but a few more short ones could bring it all crashing down.Pitch and conditionsCape Town’s surface has been the subject of much theorising so far, and early inspection revealed a pitch that offered hope to both the pace bowlers via plenty of grass, but also the spinners thanks to a prominent bare patch at one end. Some rain is forecast for the opening day, but sunnier skies are predicted thereafter.Team newsDoubt about AB de Villiers’ readiness after a broken digit has ebbed away, leaving the South African side reasonably settled. Tahir is expected to come in for his Test debut at the expense of Harris, and if he does, there could be a toss-up between Vernon Philander and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Rudolph will make his return to the Test team at the top of the batting order.South Africa (probable): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Rudolph, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Imran Tahir, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Lonwabo Tsotsobe.Australia’s only major questions surround the shape of the bowling attack, with Siddle and Copeland duelling for the third seamer’s spot behind Ryan Harris and Mitchell Johnson. Siddle’s good rhythm and fuller length in recent times, added to his solid record in South Africa in 2009, is likely to give him the edge over the ultra reliable but less pacey Copeland.Australia (probable): 1 Shane Watson, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Ryan Harris, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Nathan LyonStats & trivia South Africa’s last Test match was also in Cape Town, against India in the first week of January, a gap of some 305 days. Australia have not lost a Test series in South Africa since the South Africans were re-admitted to international cricket. A 1-1 draw in 1994 was followed by 2-1 wins in 1997 and 2002, a 3-0 victory in 2006 and another 2-1 win in 2009. In Cape Town, Australia have won three of the four Tests at Newlands since 1994.Quotes”The hard thing about Test cricket is maintaining that pressure and intensity the whole time. The more Test cricket you have as a base, you can maintain that pressure and intensity for longer periods.”
“It’s not about the pretty cover drive. You’re not going to get too many chances to hit one of those. It’s definitely a mental battle.”
“Newlands at this time of the year is a little bit of an unknown. I haven’t played too many Tests at this time of the year. The wicket will be a bit different to what we are used to. So far this season, the wickets haven’t been the easiest to bat on. Through the three one-dayers, you saw that no batsmen really got a grasp on things and I expect it to be pretty similar.”

Karnataka appeared to have been dealt a blow when captain Vinay Kumar did not bowl a single delivery during a three-hour plus morning practice session

Abhishek Purohit in Vadodara02-Jan-2011After finding out belatedly that they were playing at the Reliance Stadium – and not at the usual first-class venue, the Moti Bagh Stadium – in their semi-final against Baroda, Karnataka appeared to have been dealt a blow when captain Vinay Kumar did not bowl a single delivery during a three-hour plus morning practice session. Vinay was having a fever and a cold, but his team expected him to be available for the game starting tomorrow.”The good thing about Vinay is that mentally, he is very strong. You can always back him to pick himself up and perform when it is required, and I am more than confident that he will play tomorrow,” Sanath Kumar, the Karnataka coach, said.While Vinay’s fitness is a slight worry on the eve of the match, what has bothered Karnataka throughout the season is the tendency of their talented batsmen to fritter away starts. Amit Verma, currently fourth in the list of top run-getters for the tournament, is a case in point, having scored seven half-centuries and only one century. Sanath was optimistic that the time spent in nets would translate into big runs in the middle. “We have had issues with the batting throughout the season. But we have worked very hard recently on overcoming them, and hopefully should be able to do well.”The opening combination has been steady at best, has struggled to provide substantial starts, and averages under 30 in the crucial first innings. However, since Robin Uthappa moved to the top of the order, the returns have improved. “Robin is now opening regularly, and will continue to do that,” Sanath said.The form of middle-order batsman Ganesh Satish, though, has been a concern. He averages 27.36 in seven games, which includes an unbeaten 100, and also a pair in the quarter-final against Madhya Pradesh. Sanath hinted Satish might be replaced. “We are considering an additional spin option, either in Udit Patel or Sunil Raju.” Both are offspinners who can bat, but Sanath didn’t think this would weaken the batting line-up.Sanath also did not think that the absence of Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel in the Baroda camp makes much of a difference. Both players are part of India’s limited-overs squad, and will miss the game as they have to leave for South Africa. “See, we cannot be concerned about who is or is not playing for the opposition. And in the semi-finals, you have to play well against whatever opposition you come up with. If Yusuf and Munaf had played, would we have had any choice but to go out and give our best? It remains the same in their absence.”Karnataka bear a more settled look, both in batting and in bowling, and Sanath was confident that his attack of Vinay, Abhimanyu Mithun, S Aravind and Sunil Joshi could do the trick on a surface expected to favour the batsmen. “It looks to be a dry wicket. We have confidence in our bowling attack; it has worked for us throughout the season.”The side had a prolonged nets session, which continued well after Baroda had finished practice. All the batsmen got decent stints, and Manish Pandey even sent a couple of reporters – including this one – scurrying for cover as he lofted the spinners out of the nets, over the low-lying spectators’ stand, and into the playing arena.

Two vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein

Firdose Moonda28-Nov-2010
ScorecardRavi Bopara’s half-century was in vain as Dolphins lost to Knights by four wickets•Getty ImagesTwo vital partnerships took the Knights to a four-wicket victory over the Dolphins in the first leg of the second MTN40 semi-final in Bloemfontein. They successfully chased 227 in an intriguing low-scoring match on a deceivingly two-paced wicket.Dean Elgar and Reeza Hendricks steadied the Knights’ innings with a 109-run fourth-wicket stand in 117 balls after they had been reduced to 29 for 3. And in a tense finish with 54 needed in 5.3 overs, Obus Pienaar and Johan van der Wath finished off the job in 23 balls.The Dolphins had earlier got off to a snappy start after choosing to bat, with Imraan Khan and Ahmed Amla putting on 31. Khan skied a Ryan McLaren delivery to midwicket, giving the South Africa fringe bowler his first scalp. McLaren also removed Jon Kent four overs later, and the scoring rate cooled off a bit after the big hitter’s dismissal.Amla and Ravi Bopara then found some rhythm. Both played a range of wristy boundaries, but just when the combination had started to look dangerous, Amla lofted one to Obus Pienaar at long-on to depart for 35. Jandre Coetzee had snagged the big fish in his first over.He went on to bowl an economical spell, giving away 19 runs in his first four overs. Coetzee and Con de Lange managed to keep Bopara and Vaughn van Jaarsveld relatively quiet in the middle overs. After being frustrated by a lack of boundaries, the pair began to rotate the strike. Van Jaarsveld, however, grew restless and with no balance, played a nothing shot, a casual flick to Johan van der Wath at long leg.Bopara patiently soldiered on and reached his 28th limited-overs half century, off 60 balls with six boundaries. He had his anchor role cut short when Coetzee came back for a second spell. He offered Bopara a long hop down the leg side which should have been smacked over midwicket for six, but the batsman played too early, the ball came off the back of the bat and Morne van Wyk took the catch.David Miller and Daryn Smit’s seventh-wicket partnership added late impetus. They hit three sixes between them; Smit’s was a down-on-bended-knee improvisation over fine leg. They added 37 in five overs as the Dolphins ended on 226 for 7.The Dolphins had the Knights on the back foot early when the opening bowling pair of Kent and Kyle Abbott plucked three wickets in ten overs. van Wyk was dismissed off the first ball in bizarre fashion. He missed a Kent delivery, which went on to clip his off stump although the bail was not removed. Umpire Dennis Smith heard the noise and gave van Wyk out caught behind.Rilee Rossouw went in the next over, trapped lbw by Abbott, who had a superb five-over opening spell, also taking out Ryan Bailey. Abbott gave the batsmen no room and only conceded nine runs in that spell.The change bowlers didn’t have the same success though. Quinton Friend was expensive and Bopara had a chance put down. Elgar was on 17 and offered a simple catch to Glen Addicott on the deep cover boundary, who not only couldn’t dropped it, but also let the ball escape for four.The Dolphins were left to rue that mistake as Elgar and Hendricks quietly chipped away at the target. Hendricks finally went lbw to Friend for 64 and Elgar followed in the next over on 58, also leg before, to Imran Tahir.When McLaren too fell in the 35th over with 54 runs required, it looked as though the Dolphins had sealed the win, but Pienaar and van der Wath had other ideas. Their bludgeoning burst finished off the Dolphins, with van der Wath the chief aggressor. He bashed 29 off 14 balls to lead the Knights to victory with 10 balls to spare. The second leg of the tie takes place in Durban on Friday.