NW Dragons beat Eastern Storm by one run

Half-centuries from Wesley Marshall and Senuran Muthusamy helped the North West Dragons to a competitive total of 158 for seven and a dramatic victory by a single run in their CSA T20 Knockout match against the Eastern Storm at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

Division Two outfit Easterns looked like they could upset their Division One opponents on three separate occasions.They reduced the Dragons to 122 for seven before losing control of the final overs and then reached 111 for three before panicking in the run chase but clawed their way back to a position where they needed nine runs to win from the final four balls.

But the men from Benoni subsided to 157 for six with Tumelo Tlhokwe (14 not out off 10 balls) unable to hit the final ball from seamer Chad Classen for the boundary they needed to win.

The result means the Dragons progress to the quarterfinal knockout stage while Easterns are eliminated leaving only South Western Districts from Division Two to reach the last eight at the expense of the Gauteng Lions.

A extraordinary looking scorecard saw Dragons captain Muthusamy finish with an unbeaten 62 from 38 balls (7x4, 1x6) and Marshall contributing 73 at the top of the order with the third highest score being the eight extras.

Marshall, the 27-year-old right hander, completely dominated the innings after three early wickets and played with uninhibited freedom throughout, hitting six fours and three sixes including two in successive deliveries against left-arm seamer Khwezi Gumede who nonetheless bounced back with two wickets in the 15th over, including Marshall’s, to reduce the innings from 114 for three to 114 for five.

CHANGE THE COURSE OF THE MATCH

Marshall had only himself to blame, however, attempting a high-risk and highly unnecessary reverse scoop which he lapped tamely to Armand Erasmus at backward point.

Two balls later Lesego Senokwane (0) missed a straight full toss and was bowled.

Snyman’s off-breaks made further inroads into the Easterns’ lower order with Duan Jansen slicing a drive to Grant Thomson in the covers and Eldred Hawken (3) gave himself too much room to hit through the off side and was bowled leg stump.

Muthusamy took control of the closing overs with a series of deliberately sliced drives behind point and 32 runs came from the final two overs to repair the innings from a perilous 122 for seven.

Easterns lost three early wickets before Matthew Arnold (33) and Snyman (33) added 66 for the fourth wicket and reduced the asking rate from 12 runs per over to eight an over.

But Duan Jansen (3-27), Marco’s twin brother and fellow left-arm seamer, changed the course of the match with the wickets of Snyman, caught in the deep, and Armand Erasmus (1), caught behind, to move the score from 111 for three to 113 for five.

Clayton August’s 25 from 16 balls with a four and six dragged Easterns back into the game, but it was agonisingly too little, too late.

NORTH WEST DRAGONS: Wesley Marshall, Eben Botha, Shaylen Pillay, Heinrich Pieterse, Senuran Muthusamy (captain), Lesego Senokwane, Duan Jansen, Eldred Hawken, Johannes Diseko, Chad Classen, Caleb Seleka

EASTERN STORM: Danie Rossouw, Sizwe Masondo, Grant Thomson (captain), Gionne Koopman, Jurie Snyman, Matthew Arnold, Armand Erasmus, Clayton August, Tumelo Tlhokwe, Sinenhlanhla Zwane, Khwezi Gumede