The Sunfoil Dophins suffered their fourth defeat of the Ram Slam T20 at the hands of the VKB Knights in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.The away side won the toss and elected to bat first. The Dolphins struggled to establish a strong partnership and a well below par performance with the bat left the KZN outfit with a score of 82 for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs. Early loss of wickets were suffered by Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Khaya Zondo.
At this point The Dolphins were struggling at 11/2 with captain Morné van Wyk and Jonathan Vandiar at the wicket. The captain soon fell to Malusi Siboti which left the away side under incredible pressure making just 18 for their three out. A glimmer of hope seemed to be in the works for The Dolphins as a small partnership began to build with the likes of Vandiar and the KZN Inland inform all-rounder Kyle Nipper getting their side just past the twenty mark before confusion hit. A mix up between Vandier and Nipper would ultimately cause Vandier to be run out for ten.Nipper attempted to salvage the game however could only make thirteen at best. The dismissal of Nipper proved to be the nail in the coffin as the men from the Sahara Stadium managed to muster 34 runs in their final four wickets, setting the score at a disappointing 82.Dwayne Bravo proved to be The Dolphins’s highest scorer on the day, making 23 off 24 balls, however once the West Indian international was dismissed, the chances of the Dolphins setting a decent score were dismissed as well.The Knights seemed to stumble at the outset of their minimal chase as Dolphins opening bowlers Keshav Maharaj and Rabian Engelbrecht both picked up early wickets to leave the Bloemfontein based team ten for two.The pair managed to account for Proteas batsmen Rilee Rossouw and Riza Hendricks however with their minuscule score of 82 and a slight hope to salvage something from the game, regular wickets were required.
The pair of bowlers proved to be the away side’s last line of defence, with the home side’s Theunis de Bruin and Aubrey Swanepoel guiding the Knights to a comfortable eight wicket win with 42 deliveries to spare.
