Solid final-day stand lays the foundation as Lions claw their way to victory

The Lions had a daunting target of 334 to chase down and several in-form Knights bowlers to contend with, but a remarkable opening stand of 256 between Josh Richards and Dominic Hendricks paved the way for an incredible come-from-behind victory by the home side in their 4-Day Domestic Series match at the Wanderers on Thursday.

In the end the Lions lost a few wickets to debutant paceman Andrew Rasemene (3-44), but their four-wicket victory was never in doubt after the brilliant batting of Richards and Hendricks.

The 21-year-old Richards notched his maiden franchise century and went on to score a memorable 136 off 181 balls, with 19 fours and a six, while the in-form Hendricks anchored the chase with a determined 119 off 217 deliveries.

At Centurion, the Warriors had a much smaller final-day target of 217 to contend with, and they squeezed home by three wickets thanks to captain Yaseen Vallie’s fluent 55, 39 from Rudi Second and a blazing 38 off just 19 balls by Lesiba Ngoepe, which brought a late Titans comeback to a sudden halt.

The Warriors were cruising as they reached 121 for two but seamer Dayyaan Galiem took three for 34 and left-arm spinner Neil Brand claimed four for 37 to cause some late anxiety for the visitors.

The Titans had begun the final day on 265 for seven and would have been disappointed to be bowled out for 289 inside seven overs.

Left-arm quick Marco Jansen (4-66) and fellow new-ball bowler Basheer Walters (3-59) did a great job on Thursday morning, building on the great work of left-arm spinner Ngoepe on the third afternoon, taking three wickets.

At Kingsmead, the Dolphins top three of Sarel Erwee, Senuran Muthusamy and Keegan Petersen all scored 56s in a fine entrée to the final day’s play and, with Ruan de Swardt scoring a quickfire 32 not out, the home side were able to declare at lunch on 217 for four, setting the Cape Cobras an unlikely 295 for victory.

The Cobras started their second innings solidly enough, but the arrival of spin, and especially Muthusamy’s left-arm orthodox, saw them hit troubled waters.

Muthusamy took four for 56, including the key wicket of Proteas opener Pieter Malan for 45, leaving the Cobras on 107 for four.

But Aviwe Mgijima, who had earlier claimed all four Dolphins second innings wickets, hung around for 32 overs in scoring 36, Calvin Savage also helping with 23 as the Cobras batted to safety, finishing on 155 for six.

Muthusamy, with two half-centuries and eight wickets in the match, was an obvious choice for man of the match.

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