Yusuf leads well-oiled Lions to bonus point win over the Knights

The DP World Lions' bowling attack produced a clinical effort to help the Johannesburg team register a 47-run bonus point victory over the Itec Knights in their CSA T20 Challenge match at the Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, on Wednesday night.

The Lions, who won the toss and elected to bat first scored 142/7 in their 20 overs. When it was their turn with the ball, Russell Domingo's side was unplayable as they bowled the Knights out for 95 in 17.5 overs.

This is the Lions' third consecutive win in the tournament.

The Lions needed a good start with the ball to have any chance of registering a win, and Codi Yusuf and Tshepo Moreki delivered in spades. The opening bowlers offered nothing to the Knights in the powerplay. The duo conceded a mere three boundaries in a five-over spell.

Yusuf and Moreki were not just economical, they took wickets too. They had the Knights floundering on 19 for three after 3.5 overs. The home side's batters would have been relieved when Mitchell van Buuren brought Evans Jones into the attack. However, the onslaught was far from over, it was about to reach fever pitch. Jones closed the powerplay with a double-wicket maiden to leave the home side helpless on 24 for five after the powerplay.

The Lions' dominant showing in the first six overs was a combination of outstanding bowling and brilliant fielding. Connor Esterhuizen took a brilliant catch to dismiss Rilee Rossouw and put to bed any hope for a fightback from the home side. Delano Potgieter grabbed a difficult catch on the boundary and Jones executed a brilliant caught and bowled dismissal to put the cherry on top.

Aaron Phangiso mounted a commendable fightback with the bat as he top-scored for the Knights with a 21-ball 24 runs. The spinner shared an impressive 38-run seventh-wicket partnership with Tiaan van Vuuren (21).

The duo's continued stay in the middle was key if the home side was to avoid a bonus point defeat. However, they were dismissed within three deliveries of each other and the Knights were still more than 20 runs adrift of a score that would help avoid it.

Codi Yusuf was the pick of the Lions' bowling attack with two wickets for 13 runs in three overs. The pacer was named the Bowler of the Match for his effort. Evan Jones and Junaid Dawood also bagged a brace each, while Lutho Sipamla and Tshepo Moreki took a wicket each.

Earlier in the day, Player of the Match Wandile Makwetu (40) and Mitchell van Buuren's (32) industrious innings gave the visitors a total to defend. Makwetu walked out to bat in no mood to let the Knights' bowlers settle by attacking relentlessly. When he couldn't get a boundary, he slotted the ball into empty pockets and ran twos.

Makwetu's strike rate dropped from the 160 region to 117 after the powerplay as the Knights applied the squeeze through their spin duo of Aaron Phangiso and Dane Piedt. Van Buuren, on the other hand, had a better measure of the surface. He struck half the boundaries Makwetu hit but had a healthier strike rate of 145.

Phangiso was the best player for the Knights in the contest. The 40-year-old took three wickets for 26 runs in four overs, the best bowling figures for his side, in addition to top-scoring for them.

KNIGHTS: Rilee Rossouw, Garnett Tarr, Jacques Snyman, Tiaan van Vuuren, Dian Forrester, Gihahn Cloete (wk), Dane Piedt (c), Sithembile Langa, Aaron Phangiso, Lesego Senokwane, Malusi Siboto.

LIONS: Wandile Makwetu, Joshua Richards (wk), Zubayr Hamza, Mitchell van Buuren (C), Connor Esterhuizen, Delano Potgieter, Evan Jones, Codi Yusuf, Tshepo Moreki, Lutho Sipamla, Junaid Dawood.