Aron Visser’s well-crafted knock of 42 runs was in vain after the ITEC Knights dented the Eastern Storm’s hopes of a knock-out spot in the CSA T20 Challenge at the Mangaung Oval on March 20.
The Storm went into the fixture on the back of two successive victories, but their hosts humbled them, taking four wickets off just 16 deliveries at the death after dealing with the top order to win by six wickets.
Visser’s knock included a maximum and a boundary to drive his team to 122, saving them from embarrassment after a middle-order collapse.
Openers Kabelo Sekhukhune and Danie Rossouw, batting first, crafted 32 for the first wicket before Tiaan van Vuuren bowled Rossouw (3) in the sixth over.
Sekhukhune followed the wicketkeeper to the shed four balls later after Isaac Dikgale ran him out for 27 (three boundaries) off 25 deliveries. It was the left-hander’s third consecutive run-out since the start of the competition.
Shaylin Pillay (20) and Visser spared the Storm’s blushes with a 45-run third-wicket partnership before Dane Piedt dismissed Pillay in the 12th over.
Piedt struck again when he trapped Dewan Marais three balls later to make it two out of two in the over to start the Storm’s collapse.
What followed was a procession of batsmen from the middle to the shed as Aubrey Swanepoel got rid of Divan Posthumus (12) before Sithembile Langa dismissed Easterns skipper Shane Dadswell, Leander Lubbe and Andrew Rasemene without adding much to the scoreboard.
Nhlakanipho Mpungose dismissed Visser, and then Dian Forrester got rid of Tumelo Simelane in the last over when the visitors were bundled out for 122.
In response, Gihahn Cloete scored an unbeaten 73 off 48 to help his team to their third win in the competition.
Cloete struck 11 boundaries and a single in a ruthless display that began early in the chase when he put 44 on for the first wicket with fellow opener Gerrit Snyman before Easterns’ seamer Thula Ngcobo struck twice in the sixth over.
Ngcobo dismissed Snyman (20) with the fourth ball of the over and then got rid of Garnett Tarr for a golden duck with the next ball to get his team back into the contest.
Despite the wickets of Swanepoel (3), run-out by Posthumus and Forrester (20), dismissed by Dadswell, Cloete had already done the damage when the hosts reached their target in the 16th over after posting 123/4, winning by six wickets with 23 balls to spare.
Eastern Storm is fifth on the log with nine points, with two wins and three losses after five games, while the Knights are second with 13 points.
They take on table-topping Limpopo Impalas at Willowmoore Park on Sunday.
The first ball is at 13:00.
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