WP BLITZ UNSTOPPABLE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SEMIFINALS

WP BLITZ UNSTOPPABLE ON THEIR WAY TO THE SEMIFINALS

GQEBERHA: The Six Gun Grill WP Blitz remain undefeated in the CSA T20 Challenge as they seat comfortably on top of the log with a spot secured for the knockouts.

In the first match of the day, the Six Gun Grill Western Province Blitz won the toss, electing to bowl first against the ITEC Knights, restricting them to 126/8 at the end of their innings.

Captain, Wayne Parnell (2/16 in 4 overs) dismissed opener Christoffel Klijnhans for 6 runs in the 2nd over, followed by Basheeru-Deen Walters’ strike, dismissing Raynard van Tonder for only 1 run and the Knights found themselves in trouble as they were 2/21 at the end of Powerplay.

The Knights batters provided solid runs in the middle, with Pite van Biljon’s 40 off 35 (3 boundaries & 1 six), Patrick Kruger (34 off 21 with 2 boundaries and 2 sixes), and Jacques Snyman (20 off 21 with 3 boundaries). But a 127-run target was just not enough especially when playing against a side as dominant as the WP Blitz.

A brilliant man of the match performance from Junaid Dawood as he recorded 3/28 in his 4 overs after claiming the wickets of Farhaan Behardien (6), Patrice Kruger (34), and Gerald Coetzee (1).

The Knights were off to a great start after Alfred Mothoa (2/30 in 4 overs) dismissed Richard Levi (2) early in the game before he could settle in.

Jonathan Bird (43 off 35 with 2 boundaries and 3 sixes) and Tony de Zorzi (41 off 27 with 5 boundaries) held the innings and laid a solid foundation for the chase with a 71-run partnership. Both were caught by Klijnhans off the bowling of Gerald Coetzee (1/31 in 4 overs) and Mbulelo Budaza (1/34 in 3.5 overs) respectively.

Dane Vilas’ (21*), George Linde (10) and Aviwe Migijima (4*) saw the WP Blitz finish the game on 130/4 in 15.5 overs to secure a 6-wicket and bonus point victory, remaining the only unbeaten side in the tournament thus far.

In the second match of the day, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins won the toss and decided to put the North West Dragons to the bat first.

The Dragons lost the early wickets of openers Wesley Marshall (14) who was clean bowled by Ottniel Baartman (2/12 in 4 overs) and Taheer Isaacs was trapped for an LBW by Andile Phehlukwayo (1/19 in 4 overs) with only 7 runs.

A 72-run partnership between Nicky van den Bergh (52 off 37, 5 boundaries and 2 sixes), and Dwaine Pretorius (39 off 32, 2 boundaries and 2 sixes) restored the Dragons innings to see them set the target of 136 runs.

The Dolphins bowling attack dominated throughout the game with Eathan Bosch (3/20 in 4 overs) and Ottniel Baartman (2/12 in 4 overs) recording some of the best figures of the day.

The Dolphins batters responded well with a 60-run stand between opening batters Keegan Petersen (43 off 36 with 3 boundaries and 1 six) and Grant Roelofsen (19) which was interrupted by spinner, Senuran Muthusamy (1/15 in 3 overs), dismissing Roelofsen in the 10th over.

Caleb Seleka (1/16 in 2 overs), dismissed Petersen, and Delano Potgieter (1/23 in 2 overs) dismissed Marques Ackerman (11), bringing the Dragons back in the game in the 13th over.

An unbeaten 55-run partnership between David Miller (35* off 26, with 2 boundaries and 1 six) and Khaya Zondo (19* off 16 with 1 boundary) brought the Dolphins innings to 136/3 in 18.4 overs, with the KZN based side winning the game by 7 wickets.

The 6th round of the CSA T20 Challenge starts tomorrow with the below fixtures:

10h00: Six Gun Grill Western Province Blitz vs Momentum Multiply Titans

14h30: Gbets Warriors vs Imperial Lions

Watch all the games live on SuperSport and follow ball-by-ball action on the CSA App.

Tickets are available at Ticketpros: www.ticketpros.co.za

ENDS

Issued by: Cricket South Africa – Corporate Communications


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