Ken Borland

The KZN Dolphins needed just two runs off the last over to beat the Northerns Titans by four wickets with three balls remaining in their CSA T20 Knockout semi-final in Kimberley on Thursday, but the win was achieved with misleading ease.

The Dolphins ultimately won thanks to a sensational blitz by Khaya Zondo in the penultimate over, as he hit fast bowler Okuhle Cele for two fours and a six in an over that cost 16 and settled the contest.

Zondo finished with a classy 58 not out off 45 balls to take KZN to their target of 139. They were cruising on 92 for two in the 13^th over, but then Dayyaan Galiem struck twice in successive overs, starting with the wicket of Sarel Erwee, caught behind for 33, to start a wobble.

Galiem finished with two for 24 in three overs, while paceman Corbin Bosch was impressive up front with two for 18 in four overs which included a maiden.

Northerns had elected to bat first, but were soon 38 for four as seamer Ottneil Baartman, who was in the Proteas Test squad at the start of the year without making his debut, pushed his claims for higher honours with outstanding figures of four for 18.

The Titans relied heavily on opener Gihahn Cloete’s 62 off 49 balls to get to 138 all out in the 20^th over, with Donovan Ferreira (26) and Corbin Bosch, who lashed 21 off 11 deliveries at the death, the only batsmen to offer much support.

Baartman was well-supported by fellow pacemen Thando Ntini (4-0-26-2) and Ruan de Swardt (3-0-22-2).

Judging by South Africa’s performance in the World Cup quarterfinal against Sri Lanka this week, these are good times to be a gambler and, seeing as though I am at Sun City for the Chase to the Investec Cup final, I’m going to put R1000 each on three, four and eight at the roulette table tonight, in honour of JP Duminy’s three wickets in three balls, which meant the Proteas got away with only having four specialist bowlers, and Quinton de Kock coming good after previously averaging just eight in the tournament.

Okay, the bit about me gambling tonight is a joke because times are still tough for journos and instead I may treat myself to a lager and ponder over how good it felt to get my predictions for the quarterfinal against Sri Lanka so utterly wrong.

Coach Russell Domingo has never struck me as the gambling type, although he does have a profound love for figures, which is not to say he’s not willing to make tough decisions. He’s done that before and was even willing to leave the great Jacques Kallis out of limited-overs teams when he didn’t fit into the game-plan.

But as far as gambles go, taking on the strong Sri Lankan batting line-up on a flat Sydney Cricket Ground pitch with Duminy as the fifth bowler and AB de Villiers as the back-up ranks up there with the biggest in World Cup history, and, were it not for the brilliance of the pace bowlers and Imran Tahir in taking early wickets, it was a move that could have gone stupidly wrong.

But it worked, as did the faith shown in De Kock. As the confidence seeped back into the young left-hander, emboldened by the support of his management and team-mates, his talent and class was plain to see.

You would rightly expect South Africa to keep the same XI for Tuesday’s semi-final against the winner of today’s match between New Zealand and the West Indies, which means the pressure will once again be on the bowlers to reach the same heights they did in Sydney.

Apart from the pleasure of watching such a complete performance and celebrating South Africa’s first win in a World Cup knockout game, I really liked the send-off given to Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

Those two great batsmen have given South African bowlers a terrible time over the years but their strength of character, charm and integrity means they will be remembered as so much more than just prolific employees of Sri Lanka Cricket.

In my opinion, Sangakkara is one of the greatest batsmen to have played the game, in the same exalted realms of excellence as Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Kallis.

The Proteas obviously hold him and Jayawardene in similarly high esteem judging by the genuine warmth they showed in farewelling them, and Sangakkara’s response when asked how he would like to be remembered speaks to the very essence of sport:

“If anyone can say they’ve enjoyed playing against me and playing with me, I’ll be more than happy.”

Cricket South Africa sent out a special tribute statement when Tendulkar retired; Sangakkara is surely deserving of the same honour?