By CS Chiwanza.
The DP World Lions won the toss and elected to bat first in their CSA T20 Challenge match against the Auto Investment North West Dragons at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, on Saturday afternoon.
The Dragons need to consolidate their position at the top of the table when they go head-to-head against the Lions. The Wihan Lubbe-captained side shared points with the Multiply Titans after rain prevented play at Supersport Park on Tuesday night. The two points they got from the no-result helped them to overtake the Lions at the top.
The Dragons have a one-point lead over the Lions and will hope that their batting line-up pulls together against one of the best bowling units in the tournament. The Lions’ attack is led by Junaid Dawood, the leading wicket-taker in the league at an average of 10. The Dragons will need Lubbe and Janneman Malan, two of the top five leading run-scorers of the season, to be on their A-game.
Russell Domingo’s side has been successful thanks to various contributions from different players. They haven’t relied on a single batter, as their top order has won them matches in different contests. When the top four failed, their middle order was there to rescue them with some outstanding hitting. However, they might need their top four to bat in partnerships.
Their bowling has also been performing as a unit, hunting in a proverbial pack. This has been the key to their success, and they will be needed to do more of the same when they go up against the Dragons in Potchefstroom.
Dragons: Janneman Malan, Ludwich Schuld, Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Wihan Lubbe (capt), Lesiba Ngoepe, Taheer Isaacs, Marco Jansen, Migael Pretorius, Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo, Achille Cloete
Lions: Zubayr Hamza, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Mitchell van Buuren, Delano Potgieter, Evan Jones, Bjorn Fortuin (capt), Nqaba Peter, Tshepo Moreki, Kwena Maphaka.