Midrand Knights claim victory at home

A victory for either of the sides would have gone a long way in their title aspirations. Playing at Knights’ home ground, Halfway House Primary, the Midrand side won the toss and decided to bowl on the fast and bouncy Astro turf.

Germiston lost their first wicket in the twelfth over with 51 on the board, with Vinesh Reddy making the vital breakthrough just when the visitors’ openers seemed to be settled. Midrand’s medium-fast bowler Santosh Raichetti bagged the second wicket to have the visitors at 72/2 after 17 overs, before rain stopped play for about 20 minutes.

The match was subsequently shortened to a 30-over contest. After the break in play, Germiston came out with real intent and took the game to the hosts. The Knights’ bowlers were put under severe pressure with excellent stroke play by the Germiston batters. They scored 103 runs in the last eight overs, leaving the hosts with a pretty daunting task in chasing 220 in 30 overs.

Knights’ innings got off to a steady start, losing their first wicket in the seventh over with the score on 42. It was at this junction that a passing shower delayed the match for another 26 minutes. The target was then adjusted to 177 in 24 overs giving the home team the advantage.

Knights reached the target in the 23rd over with only the loss of five wickets, preserving their unbeaten home record.

The man of the match award was shared by Midrand’s Harsha Vayyasi and Reddy.