Ken Borland

Like bumper cars spinning and bashing into each other, the Northerns Titans and the Central Gauteng Lions went head-to-head in a crazy Jukskei Derby at SuperSport Park on Friday night, their thrilling CSA T20 Challenge clash ending in a last-ball victory for the home side.

Chasing a moderate 155 for victory, the Titans looked well on course when they reached 105 for four after 14 overs. But the leg-spin of Nqaba Peter and the hit-the-deck seam of Evan Jones saw them each take a pair of late wickets for the Lions to set up a nailbiting conclusion, especially with so much riding on the game.

If the Lions had won, they would have been guaranteed a home semi-final and probably a home final as well because, with the Warriors being shocked by the North-West Dragons in Potchefstroom, victory for them would have given them a five-point lead at the top of the standings with just Sunday’s round to play.

For the Titans, the win keeps them in fourth place, but now just three points ahead of Western Province, who beat the Boland Rocks by a bonus point in Paarl. So Sunday’s match between great rivals Northerns and WP at Newlands is to decide the last semi-final place. The Dolphins beat the Tuskers with a bonus point in the battle of the KwaZulu-Natal sides in Durban and can still finish in the top two if they beat the Warriors on Sunday.

Corbin Bosch was the hero for the Titans on Friday night, walloping 19 not out off 14 balls to see them home by two wickets; Reeza Hendricks was the villain for the Lions as he missed a routine stop at long-off in the penultimate over, conceding a boundary when it should only have been a single. The normally reliable boundary fielder seemed to want to let the ball bounce one more time and to his horror it squirmed between his legs and over the line.

That left Northerns with 10 runs to get off the final over, bowled by Codi Yusuf (4-0-25-1). A meaty pull for four by Bosch broke the back of the task, but they still needed a single off the last ball to win. Yusuf did his job by beating Bosch outside off-stump, but he and Lungi Ngidi managed to run a bye as both wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton and the bowler missed their throws at the stumps.

Wiaan Mulder had earlier had some car-crash moments of his own in the field, as he dropped a tough chance from opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first over, and then conceded a boundary when the ball went through his legs.

But he came back excellently with the ball, conceding just 24 runs in his four overs and getting the wicket of Pretorius for a run-a-ball 29.

The Lions fielding also went through a magnificent patch when the in-form Rivaldo Moonsamy (24 off 15) was run out by a direct hit from point by Temba Bavuma, and Jack Lees (5) was run out by Jones. The visitors probably should have had a third run out when Jones scored another direct hit early in Neil Brand’s innings, but the TV umpire ruled not out even though replays suggested the Titans captain had his bat on the line but not over it.

Brand scored 29 off 27 balls, adding 34 for the fifth wicket with Dayyaan Galiem (26 off 12) to steer the game the Titans’ way. But then they were derailed by Peter (4-0-29-2) crashing through the attacking strokes of Galiem and David Wiese, bowling both of them in the 15^th over.

Jones eventually had Brand caught at deep extra cover and then Junior Dala (8) at deep backward square-leg in the 18^th over, but Bosch sent the ball whizzing off his bat and to the boundary three times in the closing overs to win the race to the line.

Earlier, the Central Gauteng side had been sent in to bat and found it difficult to accelerate as they posted 154 for eight, which seemed no more than par. Wiese once again shone with the ball with one for 22 in his four overs, while Galiem was also brilliant with one for 20 in four.

Hendricks and Bavuma (21 off 13) added 46 off 32 deliveries for the third wicket, and Hendricks went on to score a pugnacious 44 off 33 balls with four fours and a six. There were also useful contributions from Mulder (25 off 22) and Delano Potgieter (21 off 15). But, having added 29 off 20 balls, Potgieter was run out when Mulder called him through for a bye and the 18-year-old wicketkeepr Pretorius threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end.

Potgieter had already hit a couple of sixes and who knows how many more runs he would have added. The Lions tried to run a bye and it proved a costly mistake; the Titans did the same off the last ball of the match and it worked.

And that’s how narrow the margins were in this dramatic derby clash.

The ability of the Northerns Titans to keep their wits about them under pressure is something the national team should maybe try and borrow from them as Mandla Mashimbyi’s side claimed the CSA T20 Challenge title at the weekend with a thrilling victory over the KZN Dolphins in Potchefstroom.

Having restricted KZN to 162/3 after they were 110/1 after 15 overs, the Titans chased their target down with two balls to spare and four wickets in hand, despite slipping to 99/5 after 14 overs. It meant Northerns won a staggering eight of their nine matches in Potchefstroom, with Dayyaan Galiem (32* off 22) and Donavon Ferreira (40 off 25) the heroes in the final as they added 63 off 37 balls for the sixth wicket.

“It was a tough campaign but I think that prepared us for those tight moments in the final,” coach Mashimbyi told The Citizen on Sunday. “We had two low-scoring chases before, the one we came close, the other we nearly stuffed up.

“But there were learnings from that, it gave us an emphasis and a structure of how to chase. If it hadn’t happened, we might have made the same mistakes as in last season’s final.

“The players were able to identify the big moments and the areas they had to look after. The bowling unit was a big highlight for me, that’s what wins you tournaments.

“With the batting, partnerships are the only thing that get you over the line and we had two guys who were able to connect and find a way. It was nice to see us control our emotions,” Mashimbyi said.

The 2021/22 CSA Coach of the Season has high hopes for the 25-year-old Galiem and believes he will become the same sort of expert finisher for the Titans as Farhaan Behardien was, as well as pushing for higher honours.

“Dayyaan has been the big positive for me this tournament, just how he went about his business,” Mashimbyi said. “He was really focused over the winter and worked hard on his finishing skills and power-hitting.

“He’s shown 100% buy-in for what we want to do and I think he can finish for us like how Fudgie used to. Dayyaan Is certainly an up-and-coming star for the Titans and our national teams.

“And he can bowl as well, so he’s a huge talent. That 19^th over he bowled that cost just one run and he got Jon-Jon Smuts out brought us back into the game.

“If he keeps on playing like this then I won’t be surprised if he gets a call-up,” Mashimbyi said.

The Northerns Titans and the KZN Dolphins, the two teams that will contest the CSA T20 Challenge final in Potchefstroom on Saturday afternoon, both have powerful bowling attacks that should decide the destination of the trophy, or will another inspirational innings by Dewald Brevis prove the difference?

It seems that the final will be played on the same strip on which Brevis plundered 162 off 57 balls against the Free State Knights and a world record 501 runs were scored in the match. But the pressures of a final and the fact that the two best bowling attacks of the competition will be on show, suggests the ball will continue to hold sway as it has for most of the tournament.

“Both teams have really good bowling attacks and I think whoever bowls best will win the final,” Northerns coach Mandla Mashimbyi told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

“Our four spinners have really put the opposition under pressure. We have experienced campaigners in Aaron Phangiso and Simon Harmer, Neil Brand has been really good and Dewald has done well with his leggies too.

“Our bowlers have put in quality performances game in, game out, and that’s why we’ve been winning,” Mashimbyi said.

The Dolphins also have quality spinners in Prenelan Subrayen and Jon-Jon Smuts, and potent pacemen in Ottneil Baartman, Eathan Bosch and fast man Daryn Dupavillon.

“Our bowling attack has really stood up, as it has done in this competition in the last three seasons,” KZN assistant coach Quinton Friend said.

“We try to simplify things and we’ve put a big emphasis on death bowling, which has been going very well. We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing with the ball.

“The confidence in our bowling unit is high, the low totals against us speaks to the quality of the guys and the way they’ve stuck to the plans put in place.

“We’ve often had to defend low scores, which adds a lot of pressure, but the guys have stepped up. Our bowling is probably our strength,” Friend said.

The Titans have an average score of 170/6 in the tournament, but if one removes their extraordinary 271/3 against Free State, then their average drops to 155/7. The Dolphins are averaging 160/5.

Northerns won six of their seven round-robin games and KZN lost twice. But the Dolphins are too dangerous to be called underdogs and Mashimbyi is mindful of how the Titans slipped up in last season’s final, having also won six out of seven to top the log, but then losing by 15 runs to the Boland Rocks.

“We have learned from last season that we have to play certain big moments a little better. Hopefuly it all clicks for us in this final,” Mashimbyi said.

The Boland Rocks surrendered their CSA T20 Challenge title in maudlin fashion on Wednesday night as they bowed out at the semi-final stage, losing by 20 runs to the KZN Dolphins in Potchefstroom.

Having sent the Dolphins in to bat, the excellent Boland bowlers dominated all but the first five overs and the last over of the innings as they bowled KZN out for 146 in the final over.

Openers Grant Roelofsen (26) and Keegan Petersen (25) added 42 off 35 balls up front, but the Dolphins then crashed to 124/8. KZN captain Prenelan Subrayen hit 22 off 11 balls at the death to boost his team to a total that they felt they could defend on a two-paced pitch.

After Eathan Bosch had Leus du Plooy caught behind for a first-ball duck, Janneman Malan gave Boland a good start, scoring 31 off 29 balls to take them to 40/1 in the powerplay. But the arrival of spinners Subrayen and Jon-Jon Smuts began a sorry tale for the Rocks.

Left-arm spinner Smuts struck with his first delivery, beating the dangerous Clyde Fortuin in the flight and bowling him for 7. Malan could only score six runs off the 10 balls he faced from the spinners, before being outdone by off-spinner Subrayen’s arm ball and being neatly stumped by Roelofsen for 37.

Subrayen (4-0-18-3) and Smuts (4-0-17-2) then reduced the Dolphins to 65/6 in the 13^th over.

Farhaan Behardien (31*) and Hardus Viljoen (22 off 18) tried valiantly to rescue the sinking ship, but Boland limped to 126/8 in the end.

The Dolphins now meet the Northerns Titans in Saturday’s final, and they will bring a proper all-round bowling attack to the contest.

Bosch’s control set an excellent tone up front as he finished with 1/22 in his four overs and Ottneil Baartman is also a primary weapon, taking 1/29 in four on Wednesday.

Daryn Dupavillon’s pace makes him a proper threat, and he bowled just one poor over, which cost 16 runs, but bowled well at the death with Baartman to ensure the Dolphins’ dominance was reflected in the final result.

Bamanye Xenxe, a real talent unearthed by this tournament, was the best of the Boland bowlers with 4/34, but he did concede 17 off the last over.

Leg-spinner Shaun von Berg took 3/22 in his four overs, but a couple of his wickets were gifted by the Dolphins hitting long-hops to fielders. His dismissal of Andile Simelane for a duck, beautifully stumped by Fortuin, was a masterful piece of cricket, however.

Ferisco Adams once again showed his T20 skills by taking 1/19 in four overs.