Titans win toss and elect to bowl

The Momentum Multiply Titans have won the toss and have elected to bowl first against the Knights in a CSA T20 Challenge encounter at Supersport Park in Centurion on Sunday afternoon.

Top spot is on offer for the hosts should they succeed in today’s encounter while the Knights are hoping to keep the Hollywoodbets Dolphins below them should they secure their second triumph of the season.

Both sides have everything to play for this afternoon, more so for the Knights after having won promotion back into the top tier. The Titans began their journey with two massive victories, in which they crossed the 200-mark barrier on both occasions but then came unstuck against an indifferent World Sports Betting Western Province side here a week ago.

However, Keegan Petersen’s men were back to winning ways when their bowlers dismantled Goldrush Boland for just 75 to secure a 94-run victory. The Knights though have been full value for money.

Dane Piedt, former WP spinner, had near misses in their first two outings, going down by three Duckworth-Lewis runs against the Auto Investments North West Dragon when cruising to victory followed by a Super-Over defeat to Boland before securing their first win against the Dafabet Warriors last week.

The Titans’ Donovan Ferreira has been sublime with the willow, cracking 170 runs at a strike-rate of 202 while averaging 85 from four innings, which include two half-centuries. Lhuan-dre Pretorius is not far behind with 147 runs but at a more sedate strike-rate of 156.

The best the Knights have had to offer by way of runs is Lesego Senokwane, who has just 97 runs from four matches at a strike-rate of 112. But more excitingly for the visitors is the form of allrounder Dian Forrester. The bowling allrounder has struck 90 runs at an average of 45 and a strike-rate of 125. He has also claimed five wickets at an average of just 16.4 despite having an economy rate of 8.33.

Malusi Siboto has used all his experience to good effect for the Knights, with the 37-year old claiming 10 wickets at an average of just 12.3 and just three wickets off top-spot. Dayyaan Galiem, the former WP bowler, has grabbed seven wickets for the Titans at an astonishing economy-rate of less than six runs to the over.

The Titans though will have their tails up, considering that the men in light-blue have secured four wins in the last five encounters against the Knights, with the visitors securing a single win back in 2021 by six wickets.

MOMENTUM MULTIPLY TITANS – Dayyaan Galliem, Sibonelo Makhanya, Corbin Bosch, Donovan Ferreira, Gerald Coetzee, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keegan Petersen (capt), Letsholo Selemela, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Tsepo Ndwandwa.

KNIGHTS – Aaron Phangiso (capt), Aubrey Swanepoel, Garnett Tarr, Gerrit Snyman, Gihahn Cloete (wk), Johan van Dyk, Lesego Senokwane, Malusi Siboto, Rilee Rossouw, Sithembile Langa, Tiaan Van Vuuren.