Titans embarrassed as Dolphins and Warriors surge late
Mark Boucher's plan to give his backup players a run in the Ram Slam backfires badly as the semifinals for the tournament are confirmed.
Imran Tahir played his part in dismantling the Titans. (Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images)
A blip on the radar or a vital loss of momentum going into the semifinals of the domestic T20 challenge?
That’s a question the Titans need to answer this week after they were embarrassed by 89 runs in their final round robin fixture against the Dolphins at Kingsmead on Sunday.
Chasing a substantial 169, Mark Boucher’s charges were bundled out for 79.
The former Proteas wicketkeeper had always planned to use this match to rest most of his key players before Wednesday’s playoff in Centurion against the Warriors but it’s pretty notable how badly most of backup performed.
Either way, the Dolphins won’t complain as their bonus point victory saw them surged into second position on the log.
It certainly wasn’t a prospect that seemed likely after they had to endure five washouts in this campaign.
The evergreen Morne van Wyk completed a magnificent weekend – he scored an unbeaten 70 in Friday’s win over the Knights – by anchoring the Durbanites’ charge to 168/7.
There were no fireworks, just 10 classy fours in his 41-ball 67.
The 38-year-old veteran’s stability allowed the rest around him to make quick contributions.
Dane Vilas slammed three sixes in his 15-ball 29 and Khaya Zondo chipped in with 23 off 19.
It could’ve been more had it not been for some fine death bowling by Morne Morkel, whose return to competitive action since the Proteas’ series against Bangladesh yielded a haul of 2/25.
A varied Dolphins attack proved too hot for the Titans batting to handle.
Grant Morgan’s charges will play the Cobras in the other semifinal.
The Capetonians fell victim to the Warriors’ late surge as the men from the Eastern Cape won by 18 runs in East London.
Jon-Jon Smuts (48) and Colin Ingram (41) headlined the Warriors’ 168/5 before Ingram’s cheap wickets of Hashim Amla (39) and Jp Duminy (13) derailed the Cobras.
At the Wanderers, the Highveld Lions and Knights’ interest in the tournament ended as rain only allowed a single over to be completed.
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