Dewald Brevis and Keegan Petersen scored outstanding centuries in the Momentum Multiply Titans' draw with the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons in their CSA 4-Day Series encounter at Supersport Park.
The captains of the two sides, Neil Brand and Wihan Lubbe, accepted the result and shook hands an hour into the afternoon session. The match had been brought to a half by lightning. They determined that no other result was possible, given the time left in the game.
Lubbe won the toss, elected to bat first, and played a great hand to help the visitors reach 345. Brevis and Petersen put on a show as they powered the Titans to 463/9d in their reply. The Dragons had scored 189/1 when the match finished.
The hosts were floundering on 5/2 when Dewald Brevis arrived to join Petersen at the crease. The Titans needed a substantial partnership to consolidate their innings. The 21-year-old delivered that with a 245-run third-wicket partnership with Petersen.
Brevis enjoyed a fruitful One-Day Challenge campaign. He scored several half-centuries in the tournament. He has carried that form into the red ball format. The batter narrowly missed out on a century last week, he fell for a well-played 99 off 110 against WSB Western Province.
Brevis saw to it that he did miss out on this occasion. He whipped a Lutendo Tsanwani delivery off the pads and over the ropes for a six to bring up his fourth first-class century. The 21-year-old put the visitors under pressure from the moment he took guard on the third morning. He faced the lion's share of deliveries and made the most of them.
Brevis needed 54 deliveries to reach the 50-run mark and another 48 to bring up his ton. He was particularly severe on Lutendo Tswanani, from whom he bludgeoned 16 runs in one over at one point. This is his second century of the season. He scored a wonderful 159 against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins. Brevis lost his wicket just before lunch when he drove a Hardus Viljoen delivery straight to Bamanye Xenxe in the covers.
Petersen was the perfect foil for Brevis' positive approach. The 31-year-old faced 168 deliveries to reach his 19th first-class century. This is his first ton of the season. The No 3 batter lost nine balls later. He fell to Matthew Kleinveldt while trying to play the ball through the onside.
The Titans lost 4/36 in 11 overs and were in danger of surrendering the opportunity to build a big advantage until skipper Neil Brand, who was nursing an injury and thus couldn’t open the batting, notched up an unbeaten 82 batting at seven. Brand's half-century was the second by a Titans batter in the innings. Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored the other one, a well-made 58 off 80 balls.
The Dragons' bowling attack had a horror outing. Only Hardus Viljoen was immune to that failing. The seasoned campaigner was on loan to the Dragons after the side suffered a few injuries among their bowlers. The pacer bagged his 29th five-wicket haul to help restrict the Titans to a total below 500. Viljoen took five wickets for 132 runs in 30 overs. Viljoen was the most successful bowler in the match.
The Dragons recorded four half-centuries across two innings. Matthew Kleinveldt registered the first one, a well-played 97 off 150 balls and Wihan Lubbe finished what Kleinveldt started with 84 off 112 in the first innings. Lesiba Ngoepe kept the visitors in the contest with an unbeaten 84 off 169 and Raynard van Tonder added 59 not out from 133 balls.
TITANS: Brayden Hicks, Neil Brand (capt), Keegan Petersen, Lhuan-Dre Pretorius, Rivaldo Moonsamy (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Matthew Boast, Junior Dala, Merrick Brett, Lesego Kokohlabana.
DRAGONS: Matthew Kleinveldt, Lesiba Ngoepe, Raynard van Tonder, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Meeka-eel Prince, Ruan de Swardt, Rubin Hermann (wk), Bamanye Xenxe, Lutendo Tsanwani, Odirile Modimokoane, Hardus Viljoen.