Another Kuhn century carries Titans to final

Heino Kuhn hit his third successive match-winning innings to lift Titans into the final of the Momentum One Day Cup. After making 92 against Knights and 104 against Warriors to take his side to the playoffs, Kuhn cracked another century in the semi-final against Dolphins as Titans reached the target of 238 in the penultimate over with five wickets to spare.

Kuhn was the fifth man to be dismissed, for 102 off 117, but by the time he fell in the 44th over, he had guided his side to within 27 runs of the target. Until No 6 Graeme van Buuren joined Kuhn with the score on 140, Titans had lost wickets regularly. Francois le Clus, Cobus Pienaar, Qaasim Adams and captain Farhaan Behardien departed for a highest individual score of 28 between them. But Kuhn held the chase together with his seventh List A hundred.

Kuhn hit only six boundaries but was still able to score at a strike-rate of 87.17. Van Buuren ensured Titans did not falter in the final stretch after Kuhn fell to Kyle Abbott. Along with Mangaliso Mosehle, van Buuren steered Titans home, remaining unbeaten on 47 off 57.

Cornelius de Villiers' three strikes had earlier played a key role in restricting Dolphins after they chose to bat. Cameron Delport and Morne van Wyk put on 53 upfront inside nine overs but the innings derailed after the former's exit off Ethy Mbhalati. De Villiers sent back Imraan Khan and Vaughn van Jaarsveld cheaply, van Wyk was dismissed by Roelof van der Merwe for 48 and soon Dolphins were tottering at 146 for 7.

Daryn Smit (53) and Abbott (43) revived the innings with an 84-run partnership before it was broken by de Villiers in the 49th over. To post 237 was quite a recovery from the position Dolphins were in at one stage, but it was not beyond Kuhn's reach. Titans will now take on Cape Cobras in the final in Cape Town on Friday.