Prince stars as Dragons reach competitive total

Meeka-eel Prince crunched an outstanding unbeaten half-century to lead the Auto Investments Dragons to a total of 176 for five in their CSA T20 Challenge match against Goldrush Boland at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, on Sunday afternoon.

Boland needs 177 to win.

Prince thumped a T20 career-best unbeaten 83 off 55 deliveries (8X4s, 3X6s). His previous best was 63. This is his third half-century in the format. The opener shared two partnerships worth more than 50 runs, the first was with Janneman Malan and the second was with Lesiba Ngoepe, who smashed a brisk 32 off 19 balls.

The home side had to wait until the fourth over for their first boundary. Boland, who won the toss and elected to bowl first, made good use of the conditions. The two sides were playing on a used pitch, the surface the Dragons contested against Western Province on when they crossed swords on Friday evening.

Janneman Malan and Meeka-eel Prince responded by dead-batting a large percentage of deliveries into gaps for quick singles. When the bad ball came, Malan and Prince were happy to dispatch it. The pair led the Dragons through the powerplay without losing a wicket.

Malan and Prince's 72-run opening partnership lasted until the ninth over when Aya Gqamane snared the former's wicket. His 28-ball 35 helped set the platform for the middle-order to come in and express themselves. His replacement, Wihan Lubbe, looked in great knock until he chipped the ball down long-off's throat just as the Dragons' second-wicket partnership was gathering momentum.

However, the wicket did not force the Dragons onto the back foot. The home side maintained their intensity, with Prince reaching his half-century shortly afterwards. He faced 37 deliveries to reach the milestone.

Glenton Stuurman was the most successful bowler for Boland with two wickets for 32 runs in four overs. Both his wickets came at the death, they were the dismissals of Lesiba Ngoepe and Marco Jansen. Imraan Manack and Aya Gqamane were the other two wicket-takers with a wicket each.

DRAGONS: Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Janneman Malan, Wihan Lubbe (c), Raynard van Tonder, Lesiba Ngoepe, Thamsanqa Khumalo, Duan Jansen, Marco Jansen, Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo, Achille Cloete.

BOLAND: Grant Roelofsen, Pieter Malan, Clyde Fortuin (c) (wk), Gavin Kaplan, Michael Copland, Ferisco Adams, Keith Dudgeon, Glenton Stuurman, Imraan Manack, Aya Gqamane, Siya Mahima.