Another sweet victory for Titans

The round-robin stages of the Momentum One-Day Cup ended with yet another sweet victory for the Titans, as they demolished the Cape Cobras by six wickets with 18-and-a-half overs to spare to secure first place on the log and a home final next Friday.

The Titans were chasing just 185 for victory and Aiden Markram stroked a run-a-ball 49 filled with gorgeous strokes, before fellow opener Jonathan Vandiar took over the reins and struck 72 off 78 balls to all but complete the victory.

Another excellent bowling display was at the heart of the Titans’ victory, as they bowled out the opposition for the fourth successive time, needing just 44.5 overs to dismiss the Cobras for 184.

The Cobras were sent in to bat and made a timid start in the face of excellent new-ball bowling from Chris Morris and Lungi Ngidi.

The top-order was blown away and at 30 for four in the 11^th over, one wondered what on earth is going on with cricket in the fairest Cape given the weak challenge their showpiece side was producing.

Andrea Agathangelou (2), Andrew Puttick (5) and Simon Khomari (7) could all have rejected to play deliveries on a testing length outside off stump, but instead went ahead and played loose drives, giving catches behind the wicket off Morris, Ngidi and off-spinner Markram respectively.

Five balls after Markram dismissed Khomari, he was the rather surprised recipient of a catch at point as Zubayr Hamza (8) was early on a drive, the ball bouncing more than expected and spooning off the outside half of the bat, as Junior Dala once again showed his wicket-taking prowess with his 13^th scalp of the campaign.

The experienced Dane Vilas, the key batsman in a largely inexperienced Cobras line-up, then took charge in a run-a-ball 42 before he provided a third catch behind the stumps for wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, being unable to handle the sharp turn of a Tabraiz Shamsi delivery.

Aviwe Mgijima and Dayyaan Galiem then combined for the biggest partnership of the Cobras innings – 65 for the sixth wicket off 80 balls – before Galiem, looking for an easy boundary with third man very wide, could only edge an attempted steer off Dala (8-1-33-2) to Kuhn, for his 24^th dismissal of the tournament, a Titans record.

From 156 for five, the Cobras innings rapidly fell away as there was a second wicket for the impressive Ngidi (8-2-20-2) and Shamsi also eventually removed Mgijima for a tenacious 52.

All seven bowlers used by the Titans were tidy, but Morris once again led the way by conceding just 21 runs in his eight overs.

Markram comfortably weathered the first seven overs from Cobras new-ball bowlers Dane Paterson and Lizaad Williams, and then began to open up as he collected a couple of superb boundaries off Galiem.

Markram was showing all his obvious class as his elegant innings included nine fours, before Eddie Leie, who has had a tough year, threatened to turn the game on its head with three quick wickets.

Markram was trapped lbw by the wrist-spinner’s second delivery, Heino Kuhn (19) was caught trying to play a lap shot, and then AB de Villiers was caught-and-bowled second ball, making his first duck in a domestic game in 11 years.

But Vandiar was untroubled and continued chipping away at the target, sharing a serene stand of 81 off just 87 balls with Farhaan Behardien as he went to his second half-century of the season and ninth overall off 52 balls.

But the left-hander could not quite complete the victory as, with four runs left to get, he pulled Galiem straight to midwicket, but Albie Morkel came in and flicked the next delivery to the boundary behind square on the leg-side to secure their fifth bonus point win, with Behardien finishing on 29 not out.

The on-loan Leie’s three for 54 in 10 overs was the only saving grace in the field for a Cobras team that looks like the season cannot end fast enough for them.

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