Reeza Hendricks scored a classy half-century as he led the DP World Lions to a nine-wicket bonus point win over the Auto Investment North West Dragons in their CSA T20 Challenge match at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, on Sunday. The Johannesburg side put up a polished and dominant performance to chase down 104 in 10.4 overs. The hosts had stumbled their way to 103 in 18.2 overs.
The win puts the Lions at the top of the table with nine points and they boast the best net run rate in the tournament.
Hendricks carved eight fours and two sixes on his way to an unbeaten 57 off 30 deliveries. The Lions opener showed his opposite number how they should have done it earlier in the day. The 50 is Hendricks' 45th T20 half-ton and his first of the season. The 34-year-old was one of the top four run-scorers in the Pakistan Super League when he left the league to join his Lions teammates. He has carried that form to the T20 Challenge.
Hendricks set the Lions on course to a comfortable win with a brilliant 76-run opening stand with Ryan Rickelton. The pair made good use of the first six overs, cruising to 60 without loss after the Powerplay. The Lions' opening pair played risk-free cricket that put the Dragons' bowlers and fielders under pressure. When they were not targeting boundaries, the pair ran singles and twos hard.
Realising the importance of a bonus point and a high net run rate in the competition, Rickelton decided to get a move on in the 8th over. The 27-year-old carved a four off the fourth delivery of Bamanye Xenxe's first over and tried to scoop the next one. The Dragons batter had taken pace off the delivery and Rickelton didn't get the momentum he needed.
However, Rickelton's wicket was too little too late. Rickelton won the Lions' first match for them with an excellent half-century and against the Dragons, his duty was to support an on-fire Hendricks, a role he fulfilled well with his knock of 34 runs from 26 balls. He struck three fours on his way there. At the time of his dismissal, the Lions needed less than 30 runs to win.
With Rickelton back in the dugout, Hendricks joined forces with Proteas test captain Temba Bavuma (9*) for a 28-run partnership that saw the Lions past the finishing line. It was only fitting that Hendricks, who made it look like the Lions were batting on a different surface to the one the Dragons batted on, hit the winning runs. A six over deep mid-wicket.
Earlier in the day, the Lions' bowlers had performed like a well-oiled machine as they saw to it that the Dragons did not settle or build significant partnerships. A promising second-wicket stand that looked threatening in patches between Meeka-eel Prince and Raynard van Tonder barely got going. They added 26 runs before it was dismantled by the Lions' star bowler of the match, Junaid Dawood.
The 27-year-old almost matched his career-best T20 bowling figures as he led the Lions' bowling attack after the Dragons had won the toss and asked the visitors to field first. Dawood has best-bowling figures of 3/22. Against the Dragons, he took three wickets for 23 runs in four overs.
The Dragons' highest partnership was the fifth-wicket stand between Suneran Muthusamy and Lesiba Ngoepe, which added 36 runs to the home side's ill-fated cause. Muthusamy seemed to have a better measure of the pitch compared to his teammates. The Dragons captain was the home team's highest run-scorer with 33 from 26 in a knock that featured three fours and a single six. Besides him, none of the other batters crossed the 20-run mark. The second-highest was Meeka-eel Prince with 15 from 13.
The Lions' bowling unit of six bowled with discipline and were all rewarded with wickets. Besides Dawood, Kwena Maphaka and Fortuin took two wickets each and the trio of Delano Potgieter, Lutho Sipamla and Reeza Hendricks took a single wicket each. Bamanye Xenxe was the sole wicket-taker for the Dragons with one wicket for 22 runs in two overs.
NORTH WEST DRAGONS: Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Wihan Lubbe, Raynard van Tonder, Rubin Hermann, Lesiba Ngoepe, Senuran Muthusamy (c), Migael Pretorius, Duan Jansen, Bamanye Xenxe, Caleb Seleka, Hlompho Modimokoane
LIONS: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, Wiaan Mulder, Mitchell van Buuren, Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin (c), Lutho Sipamla, Kwena Maphaka, Junaid Dawood.