Ken Borland

The Imperial Lions were outstanding in the field as they hammered the Titans by 18 runs on the DLS method to win the Gauteng derby and move ever closer to the playoffs in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead.

The win saw the Lions leapfrog the Titans into second place on the log, with a game in hand.

The rain which interrupted the decent Lions innings in the 17^th over on 124 for four saw the Titans target adjusted to 131 in 15 overs.

But the misfiring Titans top-order were blown away by the superb Lions attack, invariably picking the wrong shot at key times.

The mixture of spin and seam saw the Titans slump to 55 for six in the ninth over and it was only the efforts of the tail – Simon Harmer (17), Junior Dala (21) and Lizaad Williams (11*) – that denied the Lions the crucial bonus point as the Titans closed on 112 for eight.

Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was the pick of the bowlers with an outstanding two for seven in the three overs he was allowed, while spinner Bjorn Fortuin was again brilliant with two for 21.

Kagiso Rabada was typically tough for the batsmen to get away as he took one for 18.

The Titans, by way of contrast, were a bit messy in the field and Lions opener Reeza Hendricks stroked them all over the park in a wonderful 39 off 28 balls.

It gave the Lions a great start and a composed Rassie van der Dussen looked set to give them a big finish, having cruised to a promising 37 not out off 24 balls, when the rain came down.

Harmer (3-0-19-1), Chris Morris (3-0-10-0) and Lungi Ngidi (3-0-19-1) were good with the ball for the Titans, hard to get away, but the rest of the bowlers were expensive.

The Dolphins have all but assured themselves of a place in at least the T20 Challenge playoffs as they beat the Warriors by three runs on the DLS method at Kingsmead on Sunday to post their third successive victory.

The Dolphins were set 144 to win and were 128 for two, needing 16 runs off the last two overs, when their match was rained out, the DLS method deservedly awarding them the win.

And the Dolphins have their opening pair of Sarel Erwee and Keegan Petersen to thank for the triumph.

Erwee batted extremely well in the powerplay, showing good aggression as he posted 52 off 37 balls, including four big leg-side sixes.

The left-hander fell with the Dolphins needing 53 more runs off eight overs, with Petersen then batting through and scoring a well-judged 58 not out off 56 deliveries to secure the victory.

The Warriors did have a couple of opportunities at the end to dismiss Petersen, which would have made the final result an even closer affair.

The Warriors, who won the toss and elected to bat, made it to a competitive 143 for five thanks to a top-class effort of 47 not out off 38 balls by captain Sinethemba Qeshile.

He shared a partnership of 71 off 57 balls for the fourth wicket with Jon-Jon Smuts (29) that gave the Warriors a chance.

It was a fine all-round bowling effort by the Dolphins, with Keshav Maharaj producing a pair of maiden overs as he conceded just 12 runs in his four-over stint and seamer Ottneil Baartman taking two for 31.