Cape Cobras clinch title in style

Cape Cobras 416 for 6 dec (Van Zyl 148, Levi 121, Ontong 109) and 4 for 0 beat Knights 191 (Rossouw 59, Hendricks 4-50) and 227 (Du Preez 44, Louw 5-70) by ten wickets
Scorecard

Having already clinched the Sunfoil Series midway through the game, the Cape Cobras rounded off their season in style with a ten-wicket victory over Knights inside three days in Bloemfontein.

The Knights were bundled out for 191 in their first innings after being put in to bat, led by the seamer Beuran Hendricks, who took 4 for 50. Rilee Rossouw offered some resistance with a half-century. In reply, Richard Levi, Stiaan van Zyl and captain Justin Ontong all scored centuries as Cape Cobras declared at 416 for 6 with a 225-run lead.

The Knights were struggling to fight back in the second innings when they lost four top-order wickets to the seamer Johann Louw, who finished with 5 for 70. The lower order showed some resistance but the Knights could only manage a two-run lead. Levi, with a boundary in the first over after lunch, wrapped up a successful tournament.

Cape Cobras coach Paul Adams was pleased with the mettle of his team. "We had two do-or-die games at the back-end of the competition. The key was to graft and to respect partnerships. Stiaan van Zyl was a massive factor for us with two centuries in the final two games.

"We had a special blend of youth and experience. The seasoned campaigners deserve credit for creating an environment in which the young players could perform and be comfortable."

Knights coach Sarel Cilliers gave due credit to the winners. "The Cobras performed like true champions. We went to lunch on 80 for 1 on Thursday, but they dominated every subsequent session. We needed to convert good starts into centuries, but didn't achieve that. Levi and Stiaan (van Zyl) showed us the way by scoring tons."

Dolphins 456 (Van Jaarsveld 101, Smit 79, Chetty 49) and 224 for 5 (Van Jaarsveld 83, Van Wyk 57) beat Titans 218 (Shezi 4-47) and 69 (Maharaj 5-11) by 393 runs
Scorecard

Titans ended their Sunfoil Series tournament without a win as the Dolphins crushed them by 393 runs in Centurion.

The Dolphins, after choosing to bat, put up 456, led by a century from Vaughn van Jaarsveld and fifties from Daryn Smit and Khayelihle Zondo. The Titans, in reply, struggled against Dolphins' bowlers, and were in trouble at 120 for 6. Roelof van der Merwe and Shaun von Berg led the recovery, adding 76 runs for the seventh wicket, as the Titans were eventually bowled out for 218. Left-arm seamer Mthokozisi Shezi picked up 4 for 47, and was ably supported by left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who took 3 for 54.

The Dolphins were 27 for 2 in their second innings, with Rowan Richards taking both wickets, but van Jaarsveld and Divan van Wyk put on a 128-run stand for the third wicket. Van Jaarsveld top-scored again with a quickfire 83, helping the Dolphins set a challenging target of 463.

Maharaj extracted turn and bowled to an attacking field to bowl Dolphins to a third victory in this Sunfoil Series, taking a career-best 5 for 11. Farhaan Behardien was the only player to score in double figures as Titans were dismissed for only 69 runs, the sixth-lowest total this season.