Tuks brush Jamaicans aside with disdain
A well-judged innings of 76 off 56 balls by Aiden Markram was the foundation of the Tuks innings as the University of Pretoria scored 178 for five in their 20 overs after electing to bat first.
SA U19 captain Markram then completed a stellar all-round performance by taking three for 12 in three overs with his off-breaks, while fellow spinner David Mogotlane was also outstanding with three for eight in two overs.
Opening batsman Oraine Williams ensured the Jamaicans made a fine start to their run-chase with an aggressive 55 off 38 balls, taking them to 66 for one at the halfway mark, but Mogotlane dismissed him at the end of the 11th over and the last eight wickets fell for just 48 runs in 8.3 overs.
The slow left-armer then picked up the wickets of captain Delbert Gayle (7), to a wonderful return catch, and Kimani Morgan (2) with successive deliveries in the 16th over to kill off any lingering hopes the West Indians had.
A change of tactics saw Markram bowl the second over of the innings and it bore immediate fruit with Javaughn Buchanan sweeping the fourth ball to backward square-leg.
Markram was the obvious choice for man of the match, but the tall right-hander enjoyed the strong support of the middle-order in the Tuks innings.
The Jamaicans claimed the wickets of Gerry Pike (4) and Theunis de Bruyn (16) inside the first four overs, but Johan Wessels then scored 30 off 26 deliveries as 55 was added for the third wicket in 9.3 overs.
Markram batted through to the final over and quickfire contributions from Heinrich Klaasen (22) and Sean Dickson (19*) ensured the powerful finish Tuks needed to bat the Jamaicans out of the game.
Tuks will now play the defending champions, Rizvi College of Mumbai, the Indian representatives, in the semi-finals on Saturday at the Oval.
The other semi-final is between the University of New South Wales and the Jamaicans, who finished second in Group 2.
Tuks coach Pierre de Bruyn said his team could not be going into the semi-finals in better shape.
“I’m over the moon with the results, we’ve had two bonus-point wins and all departments have been tested and come up with the goods.
“We had a batting man of the match in the first game [Theunis de Bruyn], a bowler [Corbin Bosch] in the second match and today Aidan’s all-round performance.
‘I was delighted with the way we started, we summed up conditions quickly and although we’ve had some individual brilliance, there’ve been two or three other players contributing greatly in every game,” De Bruyn said.