Titans hold nerve to pull off narrow win

Boundaries in the last over by Aaron Phangiso and Chris Morris brought Lions to within three runs of their first win in the Momentum Cup match against Titans, but David Wiese only gave away a single off the last ball to pull off a narrow one-run win in Johannesburg.

Nineteen were required off the last over, but Phangiso hit consecutive fours off the second and the third delivery to bring the target down to 10 off last three. Then Morris smashed the penultimate delivery for a six over long-off to bring the team within striking distance, but he couldn't repeat the same off the last delivery, handing Titans their first win.

Lions' chase was set up by a 111-run stand for the second wicket between Rassie van der Dussen and captain Stephen Cook, who scored 62. After the dismissal of Cook, van der Dussen kept the chase going and with 86 required off the last 10 overs, Lions were still in with a chance as they had seven wickets in hand. But there was a flurry of wickets once van der Dussen was dismissed for 92 and Titans gained control.

Titans' strong total was mainly due to top contributions from their batting order. Henry Davids and Jacques Rudolph put up 129 for the first wicket, reaching their respective half-centuries along, then two important innings - by Farhaan Behardien and David Wiese - pushed Titans past 300.

Morne van Wyk scored his 20th List A century to help Dolphins comfortably overhaul the total posted by his former franchise, Knights, by four wickets in Kimberley. It was Knights' third straight loss in the tournament which has left them lingering at the bottom of the table with Lions.

Van Wyk, who had been with Knights for 17 years, used his experience to play a measured innings of 107 off 157 deliveries. Dolphins were in trouble at one stage when they had lost four wickets for 69, but van Wyk shared two consecutive half-century stands - 61 with Cody Chetty and 68 with Daryn Smit - to bring the team close to the target. When he was dismissed, 33 further runs were required and Smit and Robbie Frylinck made sure there were no further damages, winning the match with three deliveries to spare.

Knights had opted to bat and were struck a blow in the first over, but Rilee Rossouw's 90 revived the innings and later Ryan McLaren added finishing touches with an unbeaten 63 to take the team to 230. However, it didn't prove to be enough.