The Rocks and the Titans will do battle in the final of CSA’s T20 Challenge in St George’s Park in Gqeberha. The Rocks defeated Western Province in their semi-final while the Titan triumphed over the Dolphins. Western Province has been one of the more dominant teams throughout the tournament but they didn’t make the best of starts in their semi-final after winning the toss and opting to bat. They lost their first three wickets for the addition of just 33 runs by the sixth over.
Leg spinner Shaun von Berg took two wickets in consecutive overs and Province was in a spot of bother on 67 for five. Apart from a run-a-ball 31 runs from Gavin Kaplan – the lower order batsmen didn’t fare any better. Seamer Ziyaad Abrahams finished with figures of four for 34 as Province was eventually rolled out cheaply for 118. The Malan brothers, Pieter and Janneman got the Rocks chase off to a brisk start. The pair were patient and composed carving out a match-winning 100-run opening partnership. Older brother Pieter scored a run-a-ball half-century – his fifth in the tournament and his 10th in T20 cricket before he was dismissed for 57. Janneman departed in the next over for 39 but the damage was already done as the Rocks needed just 15 more runs to win. Western Province claimed another consolation wicket but that delayed the inevitable as the Rocks marched into the final with a seven-wicket victory with 11 deliveries to spare.
In the first semi-final, the Titans cruised into Sunday’s final after outplaying the Dolphins in all departments. The Pretoria outfit won the toss and invited the Dolphins to bat. Seamers Junior Dala and Lizaad Williams got them off to a perfect start – taking three wickets between them to help reduce their opponents to 11 for three by the fifth over.
Proteas spinner Tabraiz Shamzi continued the assault taking a hat-trick leaving the Dolphins in some serious trouble on 66 for seven. Aya Gqamane also pitched in with two more scalps to help restrict the Dolphins to an embarrassing 93 for eight in their 20 overs. Dolphins fans would have dared to dream after two early wickets saw the Titans reduced to 19 for two by the third over. But that was short-lived as Dewald Brevis put them in front with 38 runs from just 30 deliveries and when he departed, Sibonelo Makhanya and Donavon Ferreira added the finishing touches, securing a comprehensive six-wicket win with 35 deliveries to spare.
