The North West Dragons completed a superb 11 run victory with a disciplined bowling and fielding performance against the Lions at St. George’s Park in Gqeberha today (8 February) in the CSA T20 Cup.
The Dragons showed great fightback with the ball restricting the Lions to 125/5 in their 20 overs thanks to spinners, Johannes Diseko (2/17) and Caleb Seleka (2/23) leading the way.
Lions batsman, Mitchell van Buuren nearly took the Gauteng-based side to a win with a gutsy 65 (56)* but he ran out of partners and overs.
Earlier on, the Dragons posted 136/6 in their 20 overs largely due to a 57-run unbeaten partnership between Duan Jansen (32 off 18) and Nono Pongolo (27 off 21) for the seventh wicket.
This was crucial after the Dragons found themselves in trouble at 79/6 in the first innings. NW Dragons interim head coach, Craig Alexander, lauded the team effort of his side as well as the good communication on the field.
“We knew that we could defend the total as it wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on. We just needed to adapt our game. Dwaine (Pretorius) also played a role with his experience to help the guys out in the field. It was a huge team effort today,” stated a pleased Alexander.
“The most important aspect going forward in this tournament is to keep the form and wins going. Momentum is important and we must keep our focus on the trophy. It’s all about what is best for the team,” added Alexander.
The Dragons next face the ITEC Knights on Thursday in their second match of the campaign.
