Rilee Rossouw century in vain against Lions

The Dolphins set the tone for a South African weekend that was dominated by Natal-based sides when they beat the Cobras by 37 runs in Durban. Things started badly for the Dolphins. Loots Bosman, fresh from his trip to the UAE, was out for a duck in the second over. Then, the procession of half centuries began. Cameron Delport (52 off 44 balls), Imraan Khan (53 off 66 balls), Ravi Bopara (80 off 82 balls) and Glen Addicott (70 off 41 balls) helped the Dolphins to a healthy 281 for 6. Bopara shared in a 60-run partnership with Imraan and a 126-run stand with Addicott to earn the Man-of-the-Match award. Monde Zondeki was the most economical bowler for the Cobras, taking 1 for 27 in five overs.

In reply the Cobras started strongly. Herschelle Gibbs (40 off 32 balls) and Andrew Puttick (47) put on 69 for the first wicket in 11.3 overs. Gibbs was bowled by Quinton Friend (2-48) and Stiaan van Zyl (20 off 29 balls) joined Puttick at the wicket. Imran Tahir (2-32) was one of the two Dolphins' substitutes and showed his class as a limited-overs bowler. After he removed van Zyl, the Cobras middle order couldn't get it together. Justin Kemp scored 37 off 41 balls, but the support he required from Justin Ontong (27 off 25 balls) and Richard Levi (11 off 8 balls) was lacking. The Cobras ended on 244 for 9, handing the Dolphins a respectable win.

In Potchefstroom, the Lions beat the Knights by three wickets. The Lions opted to field and had immediate reward. Ethan O' Reilly (2-33), who Alviro Petersen describes as having "a heart bigger than his body", plucked two early wickets. Morne van Wyk (0) was bowled with the first ball of the match and Reeza Hendricks was caught behind. Rilee Rossouw rode to the Knights rescue. He scored 102 off 103 balls, with 12 fours and one six, to form the mainstay of the Knights' innings. Small contributions from Deal Elgar (30 off 39 balls) and Adrian McLaren (29 off 31 balls) helped the visitors to 259 for 8. Paul Harris (2-43) made clear his intention to challenge for a place in the national one-day side with an economical return.

The Lions relied on batting contributions all-round to chase down the total. Petersen (49 off 38 balls) and Richard Cameron (52 off 51 balls) rallied to put them in a commanding position after Stephen Cook departed early. Zander de Bruyn (52 off 52 balls) also chipped in with a half-century. Robbie Frylinck (23* off 11 balls) was with Werner Coetsee at the end as the Lions won off the penultimate ball of the match.

The Knights will be disappointed with their bowling performance, giving away 20 wides. Dillon du Preez (0-41) will be particularly aggrieved. Despite not bowling a wide, he went for a more than ten runs an over.

The Warriors and Titans also contested a thrilling encounter, in which the defending champions beat their northern rivals by four wickets. Makhaya Ntini (1-33) struck early to remove Blake Snijman and Basheer Walters (1-34) had Gulam Bodi out for 5 as the Titans found themselves 22 for 2 in the sixth over.

Jacques Rudolph (85 off 95 balls) withstood the storm of wickets and was helped by late bursts from his lower order. Roelof van der Merwe (36* off 32 balls) and David Wiese (39* off 26 balls) propelled the Titans to 212 for 7. None of the Warriors bowlers got more than one wicket.

Davy Jacobs led the Warriors reply. His 58 runs came off just 42 balls and laid the foundation for his team. Mario Olivier (2-24) got the Titans back into the game when he removed Jacobs and Arno Jacobs in consecutive overs. Ashwell Prince (45 off 63 balls) and Justin Kreusch (36 off 59 balls) were made to work hard to put the Warriors back in the driving seat. Kelly Smuts (22* off 21 balls) and Lyall Meyer led the Warriors to victory with two balls to spare.

Batsman of the week: For the first century of this season's MTN40 and helping dig his team out of a hole, Rilee Rossouw earns this week's prize.