Marco Jansen put on a polished all-round performance as he shepherded the Auto Investments Dragons to a three-wicket win over the WSB Western Province in their CSA T20 Challenge match at the JB Marks Oval on Friday.
The Proteas star justified his captain's decision to bowl first by taking important wickets as the Dragons restricted Western Province to 142 for nine in 20 overs. Jansen was then called in to perform heroics with the bat to secure victory for his side, and he obliged with an unbeaten 18 off eight balls to see the Dragons to 146 for seven in 19.4 overs.
Jansen arrived at the crease at the start of the 17th over following the dismissal of Janneman Malan. The allrounder was marooned at the non-striker’s end as his side lost two more wickets without adding any runs, thanks to Mihlali Mpongwana's ability to nail his yorkers. In four deliveries, the hosts went from a comfortable 125 for four to a perilous 125 for seven.
Jansen had to patiently watch as Mungroo swiped at the ball in vain as he tried to get the allrounder on strike. When he got the opportunity, Jansen turned things around in three deliveries.
He crunched a trio of consecutive boundaries off the last three balls of the 19th over to put his side within touching distance of victory. Mungroo obligingly took a single at the first opportunity in the final over to tie the score, before Jansen smashed the Dragons to victory with his fourth boundary of the day.
Jansen's heroics were possible thanks to an outstanding knock by Wihan Lubbe. The Dragons' captain continued his rich vein of form by registering his second half-century in two games this season. In their first outing, which was against the Itec Knights, Lubbe scored a match-winning 58 off 40 balls. Today, he registered a 37-ball 55.
Lubbe's half-century featured six fours and a single six. When he wasn't trying to find the boundary, the Dragons' captain was slotting the ball into unmanned pockets and running hard, pushing ones into twos. Lubbe's batting was so good that Meeka-eel Prince could afford to take his time and find his range. Lubbe needed only 31 deliveries to bring up his 12th T20 half-century.
Lubbe's innings ended when he sent the ball down long-on's throat while trying to score a six. The Dragons' innings began to unravel after his dismissal. The collapse was arrested by Jansen, who saw his side home.
Despite bringing Western Province close to victory with the ball, Mpongwana was not the visitors' best bowler in the match. The allrounder finished the match with two wickets for 18 runs in 2.4 overs. His economy was not as great as George Linde's, who also bagged a brace of wickets. The spinner took two wickets for 24 runs in four overs.
JANSEN JUST AS GOOD WITH THE BALL
Earlier in the day, Western Province's batting innings was sandwiched between two Marco Jansen wickets, both caught by his brother, Duan Jansen. The Proteas star finished the match with the best bowling figures of the day, three wickets for 34 runs in four overs.
Jansen's first one came five balls into the contest when the Proteas star drew David Bedingham into a shot that failed to clear Duan at mid-off. The last wicket of the innings was a carbon copy of the first, Wesley Bedja caught by Duan Jansen trying to clear the man at mid-off.
The batting between those two wickets did not inspire much. Only Eddie Moore, who hit five fours for his 38 off 31, found a third gear in his innings. Moore batted in second gear for most of his innings and was on 19 off 18 balls at one point. Unfortunately for Western Province, Moore's acceleration only lasted 13 balls before he was dismissed.
Valentine Kitime (16), Daniel Smith (19), George Linde (14), Mihlali Mpongwana (13) and Abdullah Bayoumy (12) all reached double figures but none could kick on.
Marco Jansen was well-supported by Mungroo and Lubbe, who each bagged a brace of wickets as the Dragons gained an upper hand in the contest.
DRAGONS: Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Rubin Hermann, Janneman Malan, Wihan Lubbe (c), Lesiba Ngoepe, Thamsanqa Khumalo, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo, Achille Cloete
WESTERN PROVINCE: Eddie Moore, David Bedingham, Daniel Smith (w), Valentine Kitime, George Linde, Mihlali Mpongwana, Abdullah Bayoumy, Kyle Simmonds, Beuran Hendricks (c), Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Wesley Bedja