By Tim Dale Lace.
@GalloImages.
The Hollywood Bets Dolphins romped to an easy victory, their second in consecutive days, against the DP World Lions today in the CSA T20 Challenge, on the back of a highly competent opening partnership between Grant Roelofsen and Keegan Petersen.
The pair began needing 164 for victory. Petersen, the more fluent of the pair, was dropped on 47 by Tladi Bokako off Evan Jones but this was the only scare as the two compiled a century-opening partnership, the best in the competition so far. A feature was the running between the wickets.
At 106, Roelofsen, the leading run-scorer of the tournament, was caught by Jones pulling at Yusuf. This was in the 13th over and the writing was already on the wall for the Lions.
Jon Jon Smuts, in poor form so far in the tournament, joined Petersen and the two continued on their merry way, rarely troubled by an increasingly ineffective Lions attack. They reached the target with 10 balls to spare, Petersen finishing with 75* off 51 balls (1×6, 9×4) and Smuts with 37* off 19 balls (6×4). Their partnership realised 61 runs off 35 balls.
The Dolphins moved to second on the table and the Lions are left languishing near the bottom.
The Lions, who began steadily, reached 46 in the power play before Cameron Delport was caught by Keegan Petersen off Daryn Dupavillon, top-edging to mid-wicket. The score was 49 and Cameron Delport (27) had reached only his second double-figure score of the tournament.
Neither batsman was able to score at much above a run a ball and frustration led to the dismissals of both, Ryan Rickleton following his partner when the score was 64, again caught by Petersen off Prenalen Subrayen, a good running catch on the boundary. Rickleton’s 29 came from 23 balls. Between overs six and nine two wickets fell for 20 runs and at the halfway stage the Lions were 70 for two.
Once Wiaan Mulder joined Mitchell van Buuren, the two soon accelerated the momentum and provided the best batting of the innings, which produced 73 runs in 47 balls until both batsmen were dismissed in consecutive overs. Neither will be particularly happy that full tosses accounted for each of them; Van Buuren, 42 from 28 balls (4×4, 1×6) off Daryn Dupavillon, providing Keegan Petersen with his third catch of the innings and Mulder, 39 from 27 (3×4, 2×6) caught by Bosch off Ottneil Baartman from the first ball of the eighteenth over.
An interesting statistic is that the first extra of the innings, a wide, occurred only in the eighteenth over. By contrast, the Lions were unable to match the discipline of the Dolphins bowlers and were guilty of three wides in the power play. Baartman claimed his second wicket of the over when he had Evan Jones (8) caught behind, playing a reverse scoop shot. Muhammad Manack was then caught by Grant Roelofsen off Daryn Dupavillon for a duck, which made the score 153 for six.
Malusi Siboto, with a brief cameo of 13 off nine took the DP World Lions to a final score of 163 for six, which left the match evenly balanced, Baartman with 2-30 was the pick of the Hollywood Bets bowlers. Subrayen, with 1-23 in three overs, provided good support.
LIONS: Cameron Delport, Ryan Rickelton, Dom Hendricks, Mitchell van Buuren, Wiaan Mulder, Muhammad Manack, Evan Jones, Malusi Siboto (capt), Codi Yusuf, Tladi Bokako, Tetelo Maphaka.
DOLPHINS: Grant Roelofsen, Jon Jon Smuts, Tshepang Dithole, Daryn Dupavillon, Ottneil Baartman, Keegan Petersen, Andile Simelane, Kaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Prenelan Subrayen (capt), Eathan Bosch.