DAY 3: Ferreira stars as Titans crush Dragons

Multiply Titans allrounder Donovan Ferreira registered his maiden 10-wicket haul as the Pretoria-based team chalked their third win of the season with a comprehensive 302-run win over the North West Dragons in their CSA 4-day Challenge match at the JB Marks Oval on Saturday.

Ferreira played a blinder with the ball and ended the match with figures that read: 10 wickets for 82 runs in 36.2 overs.

The Titans, who won the toss and elected to bat first put 265 runs on the board thanks to a well-played 72 off 168 from their captain, Neil Brand. The 27-year-old led the way with the bat with a half-century of 72 off 168 that provided Titans' star, Dewald Brevis (113), a platform to express himself. 20-year-old Brevis chalked his second first-class century in as many matches as he led the Titans to a first-innings total of 265. Besides Brand and Brevis, no other Titans batter scored more than 30 runs.

The Titans' failure to reach the 300-run mark was mainly because of Suneran Muthusamy. The spinner grabbed his 14th first-class five-wicket haul in the innings. The Titans had their own spin-bowling weapon, whom they unleashed in the first 10 overs of the Dragons' batting innings. The allrounder tore through the hosts batting line-up, with help from Matthew Boast, Aya Gqamane and Corbin Bosch as he registered his maiden five-wicket haul.

Ferreira and his counterparts ensured that no Dragons batter reached or crossed the 25-run mark. Lesego Senokwane top-scored for the hosts with 23 off 55.

The visitors' top-order failed to get going as their top four crumbled for 50 runs. Sibonelo Makhanya and Rivaldo Moonsamy mounted a fightback with a 39-run sixth-wicket partnership that fell apart when Makhanya fell for a tidy 43 off 53 deliveries. After Makhanya's dismissal, Moonsamy stuck around for long enough to contribute 98 runs to the Titans' cause. The wicketkeeper was unable to record a second successive fourth-innings ton. But, his 98 runs were good enough to lift the Titans past 250 and on their way to victory.

Corbin Bosch added a handy 45 off 52 balls. The Titans declared on 287 for eight. They had a 444-run lead.

The Dragons were in trouble almost immediately after walking out to bat in their second innings. They lost their first wicket in the fifth over and everything went downhill from there. Besides Grant Mokoena, who registered his 42nd first-class 50, it was Groundhog Day for the Dragons. Like in the first innings, the Dragons' batters struggled to pass the 25-run mark.

The Dragons capitulated immediately after lunch on the third day, thanks to the Titans' new spin twins, Brand and Ferreira. The pair took four wickets each and the visitors scuttled the home side 142. This was Brand's second four-wicket haul and Ferreira's first.