DAY 2: Pretorius' century puts Titans in charge

Lhuan-dre Pretorius' outstanding century helped the Multiply Titans take control of their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Dafabet Warriors at Dafabet St George's Park on Friday. At stumps, the Warriors were on 112 for six.

The home side trail the Titans by 71 runs with four wickets in hand. The Warriors won the toss, elected to bat first and registered a 152-run first-innings score. The visitors replied with 342, a total made possible by Pretorius' brilliant innings. The Warriors had Sinethemba Qeshile (32*) and Beyers Swanepoel (11*) at the crease at the close of play.

The hosts are perilously close to a defeat by an innings and some runs. As they did in the first innings, the Warriors' top order failed to get going. Dayyaan Galiem destabilised the home side with two wickets in the first 10 overs after tea. Junior Dala followed that effort with a brace of his own before the Warriors reached 20 overs in their innings.

Merrick Brett and Sibonelo Makhanya got in on the act, dismissing the Warriors' all-rounders, Senuran Muthusamy and Patrick Kruger before the hosts had batted 30 overs of the contest. The six wickets, all taken in a single session, left the Warriors in trouble.

Earlier in the day, Pretorius gave the Titans a giant boost. The left-hander is playing in his first four-day series encounter. He marked his debut in style, scoring a magnificent 120 off 184. His innings featured 14 fours and three sixes. He faced 171 deliveries to register his maiden first-class century. When he arrived at the crease the Titans were 87 for four. It was during the first hour of play in the morning session. The 18-year-old showed composure as he constructed a 101-run fifth-wicket partnership with Sibonelo Makhanya.

Makhanya looked composed as he compiled his 21st first-class half-century. The 28-year-old is featuring in his first red-ball match for the Titans this season. The middle-order batter made the best of the opportunity. He faced 87 deliveries to reach the milestone and was dismissed for 53 from 91 balls.

No other Titans batter reached the 50-run mark. However, Pretorius shared two partnerships worth a combined 107 runs with Rivaldo Moonsamy and Dayyaan Galiem. His stand with Moonsamy added 52 runs to the total and his seventh-wicket partnership with Galiem contributed 55.

When the Titans' innings were closed, they had a 185-run lead. They were restricted to that total thanks to some good bowling from Beyers Swanepoel. The 26-year-old was in good form as he registered his ninth first-class five-wicket haul. The pacer finished with five wickets for 54 runs in 21.5 overs. Swanepoel was the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors. Duanne Olivier and Alfred Mothoa bagged a brace each.

WARRIORS: Jordan Hermann, Diego Rosier, Jean du Plessis, Matthew de Villiers, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Senuran Muthusamy (capt), Patrick Kruger, Beyers Swanepoel, Duanne Olivier, Alfred Mothoa, Siya Plaatjie.

TITANS: Neil Brand (capt), Joshua van Heerden, Keegan Petersen, Dewald Brevis, Sibz Makhanya, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rivaldo Moonsamy (wk), Dayyaan Galiem, Merrick Brett, Junior Dala, Tsepo Ndwandwa.