Heino Kuhn and Junior Dala helped the Multiply Titans to crush the Hollywoodbets Dolphins by 70 runs in their Momentum One-Day Cup match at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.
The victory enabled the Titans to extend their lead at the top of the table while the Dolphins, who suffered their second consecutive defeat, slipped further back into the pack of teams chasing a semifinal spot.
Man of the match Kuhn struck his first List A ton of the season to propel his team to 300/9 after the Dolphins’ acting captain Keshav Maharaj (who took over the job from an injured Khaya Zondo) won the toss and put the Titans in to bat.
Then, when the Dolphins tackled their challenging target, Dala, in an aggressive display of short-pitched bowling, blasted through the Dolphins’ top order, grabbing 5/32 – his best return in List A cricket – including the wicket of Sarel Erwee in his opening over and the scalps of Marques Ackerman and Dane Vilas off consecutive deliveries in his third.
It was a devastating contribution from the pace bowler after the Dolphins had made a solid start with Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Erwee adding 55 for the first wicket before Erwee mistimed a lofted drive to mid-off.
The key wicket for the Titans, however, was that of Van Jaarsveld who had played with his usual powerful authority to compile 52 in 59 balls (6x4s) before he gave his wicket away, holing out to deep midwicket off the part-time spin of Dean Elgar.
But the Dolphins weren’t about to give up just yet with Sibs Makhanya and Eathan Bosch compiling a defiant seventh-wicket partnership of 54 in 52 balls, with Makhanya, playing his first match of the competition, striking an effervescent 55 in 66 balls (2x4s, 3x6s) and Bosch – also playing his first game – impressing with a quick-fire 27.
But when Bosch had his middle stump knocked back by Tshepo Moreki, the Titans coasted to victory with a delighted Elgar cleaning up the tail and registering a career-best 4/37 as the Dolphins faded to 230 all out in the final over.
Earlier, the Titans’ innings was built on the twin foundations of a second-wicket partnership of 79 between Jonathan Vandiar (34) and Kuhn, and then a stand of 70 for the third wicket between Kuhn and Elgar (26).
The Titans will probably feel that they could have put even more of a squeeze on the Dolphins after they reached 200/3 in the 34th over with Kuhn unbeaten on 107 (98 balls, 11x4s, 1x6). But the veteran got himself out at that point, trying to clout Senuran Muthusamy over the long-on boundary and holing out to Van Jaarsveld.
The Dolphins, for their part, will regret having given the centurion three lives.
Paceman Bosch, having dismissed Diego Rosier cheaply in his first over, courtesy of a fine diving catch at second slip by Van Jaarsveld, should have snared Kuhn in his second over when the right-hander edged a waist-high catch straight to Ackerman at slip who fumbled the chance. Kuhn wriggled off the hook again in Bosch’s fourth over when he edged a delivery that bisected wicketkeeper Vilas and slip with both leaving the ball for each other. And Vilas was responsible for his final life when he missed an easy stumping chance off the bowling of Prenelan Subrayen.
After Kuhn’s departure, Heinrich Klaasen and Farhaan Behardien put together a solid partnership of 60 in 68 balls for the fifth wicket to help the visitors to the biggest total in the competition at Kingsmead this season.
Bosch was the Dolphins’ best pace bowler, grabbing 1/29, and it was a surprise that he only bowled five overs. As is often the case, “golden arm” Muthusamy took wickets with his left-arm spin, taking 3/55 in his 10 overs, while Okuhle Cele weighed in with 2/49.
HOLLYWOODBETS DOLPHINS: Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Sarel Erwee, Marques Ackerman, Dane Vilas (wk), Sibs Makhanya, Senuran Muthusamy, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Eathan Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Kerwin Mungroo, Okuhle Cele
MULTIPLY TITANS: Diego Rosier, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wk, capt), Jonathan Vandiar, Heino Kuhn, Chris Morris, Farhaan Behardien, Tshepo Moreki, Junior Dala, Gregory Mahlokwana, Shaun von Berg