Eben Botha hit an extraordinary half-century and the weather gods smiled on Eastern Cape Iinyathi after getting their CSA T20 Challenge campaign back on track with a crucial 12-run win over the Eastern Storm.
They won via the Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method at Willowmoore Park, on March 9.
Botha (62 off 27) and his captain Jason Niemand (16 off 13) helped Iinyathi to 93/2 by the ninth over before the skies opened to end the match. Thanks to Botha’s attack in the power-play, they were far ahead of the DLS calculations.
The hosts felt gutted after posting a mammoth 187/4 in their 20 overs, riding on Dewan Marais’ unbeaten 50 off 35 and a solid opening stand of 39 between Kabelo Sekhukhune and Danie Russouw.
Sekhukhune anchored the innings and ended with 41 off 22, including three sixes and a trio of boundaries before being run out by Mncedisi Malika in the eighth over.
Russouw (10 off 13) was the first to depart after he was caught at backward square leg by Joshua Dodd off Thobile Hlamuka in the fifth over.
Shaylen Pillay (25 off 20) put on 29 for the third wicket with Marais but was bowled by Jade de Klerk with a delivery that went through the batsman’s defences, sending the bails flying, leaving the job to Marais.
The batsman duly accepted with brilliant strokes that took him to his 50, thanks to his valuable partnerships with Aron Visser (23 off 16) and Shane Dadswell (27 off 15), taking Easterns to a competitive 187/4.
Onslaught
Chasing 188, Iinyathi started brilliantly with a quick-fire 37 for the first wicket between Niemand and Botha.
The duo took nine off the first over and combined to take 16 runs off Andrew Rasemene in the following over, which included two boundaries and a six that sailed over the fine-leg boundary before a change of bowling did the trick for the hosts.
Easterns captain Dadswell called on Chad Classen and was rewarded immediately when the seamer got rid of Niemand.
After taking a boundary and a six off the bowler, Niemand went for the pull, but it lacked power and instead was caught at point by Pillay.
Botha continued the onslaught when he took 15 off Classen in the sixth over, including two sixes over the mid-on boundary, as the visitors scored 66/1 in the power-play.
The batsman reached his 50 in the seventh over after sending part-time spinner Sekhukhune’s half-tracker to the roof of the main pavilion for a six. Botha took another maximum off the bowler when he sent his full toss over mid-off as Sekhukhune leaked 14 runs before rain stopped play briefly.
When the proceedings resumed, Botha was trapped in front by Leander Lubbe in the ninth over, but the weather gods had the final say when the drizzle returned. The game was eventually called off, with Iinyathi winning by the DLS method, condemning their hosts to their second successive loss in the competition.
• The Storm travel to the Six Gun Grill SWD on March 12 in their next match and will take on the Northern Cape Heat at Willowmoore Park on March 15.
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