A brilliant unbeaten 110-run sixth wicket partnership between Patrick Botha and Patrick Kruger powered the ITEC Knights to a comfortable five wicket win over the Dafabet Warriors in their CSA One-Day Cup competition clash at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Sunday afternoon.
Botha scored a measured 60 off 76 balls (4x4), while Kruger cracked 55 off 58 (6x4; 1x6) as they dug the Knights out of a tricky situation, before taking them to their first win of the competition.
For the Warriors it was another disappointing performance that sees them drop to second from bottom on the log having lost all three of their games so far.
The Knights won the toss and chose to bowl first, restricting the Warriors to 222 all out in their innings, before setting about their target.
Their innings got off to a quick start thanks to opener Gerrit Snyman as he clubbed three fours and two sixes in his 18-ball 25.
But two wickets in four balls saw Ziyaad Abrahams have Snyman caught by Lesiba Ngoepe, followed by Beyers Swanepoel removing Gihahn Cloete (7) caught behind by keeper Sinethemba Qeshile to reduce the hosts to 32/2.
Isaac Dikgale (15) and Raynard van Tonder (24) both got starts before Tiaan van Vuuren had both caught by Qeshile and Tristan Stubbs respectively with the Knights on 81/4.
Pite van Biljon also got a start, reaching 24 before he was caught by Van Vuuren off the bowling of Abrahams, leaving the Knights in trouble on 113/5.
However, this brought Kruger to the crease to join Botha and they superbly guided the Knights home with 18 balls to spare.
PROCESSION OF WICKETS
Earlier, the Knights' decision to put the Warriors in to bat looked to be the wrong call as the visitors got off to a strong start which saw them on 176/3 in the 36th over.
However, the wicket of Stubbs for the team’s top score of 46 off 54 balls (5x4), sparked a collapse that saw them lose their last seven wickets for just 46 runs.
It was a good all-round bowling performance from the Knights with Mbulelo Budaza, 3-35, Snyman, 3-42, Aubrey Swanepoel, 2-44, and Migael Pretorius, 2-60, providing the wickets.
The Warriors got their innings off to a steady start, reaching 45 off the first 10 overs, before Jordan Hermann (17) was trapped LBW to become Budaza’s first scalp.
Wihan Lubbe, 45 off 61 (6x4; 1x6), and Diego Rosier, 45 off 61 (3x4; 2x6), combined for a good 59-run second-wicket partnership, before Lubbe was bowled by Snyman, with the score 104/2.
Stubbs and Rosier added 49 for the third wicket, with Rosier out LBW to Swanepoel.
Stubbs and Qeshile (21) seemed to be setting the Warriors up for a big end-of-innings flourish, only for Stubbs to fall LBW to Budaza, which started the procession of wickets that saw them fail to bat out their overs with the last wicket falling at the end of the 48th over.
KNIGHTS: Gihahn Cloete, Raynard van Tonder, Jacques Snyman, Patrick Botha, Migael Pretorius, Isaac Dikgale, Aubrey Swanepoel (c), Mbulelo Budaza, Alfred Mothoa, Mbulelo Budaza, Patrick Kruger
WARRIORS: Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann, Wihan Lubbe, Diego Rosier ©, Sinethemba Qeshile, Tristan Stubbs, Beyers Swanepoel, Akhona Mnyaka, Ziyaad Abrahams, Tsepo Ndwandwa, Tiaan van Vuuren