In-form Titans and Dolphins clash in CSA One Day Cup playoff

The in-form Titans and Dolphins are ready to go head-to-head as they collide in their CSA One Day Cup qualifier at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday.

The Titans were originally supposed to host the Warriors at SuperSport Park in the playoff after finishing second on the log, only for the Dolphins to leapfrog them after they were awarded four points for their 126-run loss against the Eastern Cape side. This because the Warriors breached CSA’s administrative conditions by not playing three black African players in that match.

The Pretoria side will thus now battle it out on the Dolphins home turf for a place in the final against table topping Boland in Paarl on Sunday.

The Titans will be looking to their up-and-coming star players to give them the edge in the match, with Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius being in terrific form with the bat.

Both players have scored over 300 runs, Brevis at a brilliant average of 72.4, with one century and three fifties to his name, and Pretorius at an average of 50.66, having hit two centuries.

Rivaldo Moonsamy has also been in great form with the bat, hitting two hundreds, while young Matthew Boast has impressed with the ball, and they will also have vital roles to play.

For the Dolphins, they will look to veterans Jon-Jon Smuts and Prenelan Subrayen, who have been fantastic with bat and ball respectively, while young all-rounder Bryce Parsons has also been good with the bat.

Winning runs

Both the Titans and Dolphins head into the game on terrific winning runs leading to superb finishes to their respective CSA One Day Cup pool phases, having initially made dreadful starts to the competition.

They both lost their opening two games and then suffered a washout in the match between them at SuperSport Park, leaving them languishing bottom of the log after three matches.

However, since then, the Titans have been in brilliant form, beating Western Province by 41 runs, before thrashing the Warriors by 111 runs, the Dragons by 133 runs, and the Knights by seven wickets.

The Dolphins have also been on a four-game winning run, beating the Lions by six wickets, destroying Western Province by 194 runs, and then beating the Knights by five wickets and Dragons by seven wickets.

Both teams could also be boosted by the return of Proteas stars, who have just returned from the Champions Trophy competition held in Pakistan.

The Titans could see as many as five players included, with Heinrich Klaasen, Aiden Markram, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi and Corbin Bosch all available for selection.

The Dolphins have two Proteas players available, in David Miller, who scored a stunning century in a losing cause against New Zealand in the recent Champions Trophy semis, and franchise captain Keshav Maharaj.

It will, however, be interesting to see how many Proteas players will be brought back in, especially as both sides have been in top form, and changing players could disrupt the momentum built up in the teams.

The Dolphins would likely find it a lot easier to bring in just two players, and it might do the Titans well to make minimal changes for the match.