Mbhalati hat-trick sinks Eagles

Titans 132 for 8 (Bodi 62, du Preez 2-19) beat Eagles 67 (Mbhalati 4-12, Joubert 3-12) by 61 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard

Ethy Mbhalati took the first Standard Bank Pro20 hat-trick, wrecking the Eagles innings and taking the Titans to an emphatic 61-run win in their crunch match at the De Beers Diamond Oval in Kimberley.

Mbhalati took 4 for 12 and was splendidly supported up front by Andre Nel, who took the key wickets of Loots Bosman (6) and Morne van Wyk (11) as the Eagles crashed to 67. Rain had interrupted their innings on 54 for 8 after 11.1 overs, their target being adjusted to 129 in 16 overs by the Duckworth/Lewis method.

The Titans had earlier scored 132 for 8, a total which did not seem sufficient on a ground that usually produces a feast of runs. But that was before Mbhalati barged through the Eagles middle-order, moving the ball off the seam and bowling with tremendous accuracy.

The Eagles slumped to 28 for 4 as Mbhalati removed Dean Elgar (1) with the third ball of his third over and Jacques Rudolph (7) with the last delivery. Captain Boeta Dippenaar failed to repair the damage and was caught off the first ball of Mbhalati's next over. Ryan Bailey was cleaned up by a superb delivery first ball to give the seamer, who has had a top-class limited-overs season, a historic landmark. The Eagles were then in tatters at 33 for 6 and Pierre Joubert took two wickets in seven balls before rain intervened.

On an unpredictable pitch, Gulam Bodi was the one Titans batsman to ride the rough seas, scoring 62 off 53 balls, before his dismissal sparked a collapse of four wickets for three runs in seven balls. Albie Morkel was the other batsman to hit out, scoring 18 off 12 balls.

Dillon du Preez, Jandre Coetzee and Roger Telemachus each claimed two dismissals, while Ryan McLaren and Thandi Tshabalala restricted the batsmen well, conceding just 19 and 20 runs respectively in their four overs.

Warriors 119 for 7 (de Bruyn 34, Dyili 28) beat Lions 87 for 8 (Coetsee 17, Theron 2-13) by 18 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard

A fine bowling performance by the Warriors ground the Lions to an 18-run defeat in a rain-affected Standard Bank Pro20 match in Potchefstroom. The Lions were restricted to 87 for 8 and lost on the Duckworth/Lewis method after their target was reduced from 120 to 106 following a floodlight failure.

Two run outs - one of them off a deflection at the non-striker's end - in the first three wickets to fall put the Lions on the back foot as they set off in pursuit of the Warriors' 119 for 7 from 16 overs.

Spinners Arno Jacobs and Johan Botha ensured there was no escape for the Lions after the damage had been done at the top of the order. Opener Blake Snijman risked a single to Zander de Bruyn at mid-on and was run out by a direct hit.

Wayne Parnell, the South African Under-19 captain, had Alviro Petersen lbw for five to reduce the Lions to 16 for 2 but the innings fell apart in the space of three balls at the turn of the sixth over. First, Vaughan van Jaarsveld's fierce, straight cross-bat slog was deflected on to the non-striker's wicket by Botha to remove Justin Ontong for 14. Two balls later, van Jaarsveld was bowled by Jacobs as he tried to cut a straight ball. That reduced the Lions to 36 for 4 and the innings was effectively dead in the water.

To make matters worse, there was a ten-minute stoppage for a floodlight failure with the Lions requiring 53 from four overs with four wickets in hand, which was revised to 39 from two overs on resumption - which proved beyond their grasp.

The Warriors' 119 did not look all that formidable as only de Bruyn's unbeaten 34 and an explosive 28 from Athenkosi Dyili came at more than a run-a-ball. The Lions chipped away regularly and never allowed the Warriors to build any momentum and de Bruyn and Dyili had to make their contributions in isolation.

Dyili hit five fours and a six in his 14-ball knock before being bowled off an inside edge while de Bruyn hit the accelerator only in final two overs, helping his team to 26 runs with the help of Rusty Theron.