Rampant Titans book play-off berth

Opener Heino Kuhn's 96-ball 104 inspired Titans in a remarkable run-chase, as they overhauled 249 in less than 39 overs to beat Warriors by seven wickets and book their place in the play-offs.

Titans needed to win their last two games, including one with a bonus point, to stand any chance of qualifying, and hope that other results went their way. But they rode their luck, and following their three-wicket D/L win over Knights on Wednesday, Titans' comprehensive victory against Warriors in East London meant that they had sneaked into third place at the expense of their opponents on account of a better net run-rate.

Titans were without their captain Henry Davids and allrounder David Wiese, but made light work of a competitive run-chase, as Kuhn and Francois le Clus added 153 for the opening wicket. Le Clus was run-out in the 24th over, but Kuhn and Cobus Pienaar continued the charge, putting on a stand of 72 to all but seal the win and gain a bonus point. Kuhn's knock included 13 fours.

Warriors, electing to bat, were buoyed by an 83-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Ashwell Prince and Davy Jacobs that helped them overcome a slow start during which the openers Michael Price and JJ Smuts were dismissed inside four overs. Prince's 69-ball 74 included 10 fours.

Colin Ingram and Simon Harmer chipped in with scores of 38 and 27 respectively, but Roelof van der Merwe finished with 3 for 32 to dismiss Warriors in 49.2 overs. The defeat was a cruel blow for the Warriors, as they had spent the entire tournament near the top of the table, despite losing three games to rain.

Dolphins 283 for 6 (Khan 71, Chetty 66) beat Cape Cobras 212 (Van Zyl 69, Alexander 5-42) by 71 runs
Scorecard

A superb all-round performance helped Dolphins beat Cobras convincingly by 71 runs to gain a bonus point. They will now play the semi-final against Titans at home in Durban.

Warriors' defeat to Titans meant that Cobras had already qualified for the final as table-toppers, but Dolphins had to win to stay alive in the competition. They did that quite easily in the end, as Cobras were bowled out for 212 in 45.2 overs.

Dolphins' innings had been propelled by half-centuries from Imraan Khan, Cody Chetty and Khaya Zondo, which took them to 283 for 6. Khan departed for 71, but Chetty and Zondo added 110 for the sixth wicket as Cobras struggled to cope with the absence of Charl Langeveldt due to injury after the seamer had bowled just five overs.

Cobras looked to briefly be in contention as Stiaan van Zyl scored 69, and apart from his stand with Justin Ontong, no other significant partnerships materialised, as the pacer Craig Alexander took his second five-wicket haul in List A cricket to wreck the middle and lower order.

Knights 145 for 2 (Hendricks 55*) beat Lions 141 (Bavuma 45, Friend 4-30) by eight wickets
Scorecard

Lions ended their dismal campaign with yet another defeat - their seventh in 10 games - as they succumbed to Knights by eight wickets in Johannesburg. Both teams had already been eliminated before the game, but Lions' loss meant that the defending champions would finish in last place.

Lions never really got going after winning the toss and lost wickets at regular intervals. Temba Bavuma offered brief resistance by scoring 45, but in the absence of any significant support at the other end, he was unable to take the team to a competitive total. Nicky Boje and Quinton Friend took six wickets between them to restrict Lions to 141.

Knights chased that score with 14 overs to spare, as the openers Lefa Mosena and Reeza Hendricks contributed 71. Mosena was trapped lbw in the 24th over but Hendricks remained unbeaten on 55 to secure Knight's third win of the competition.