Ram Slam T20 Challenge: Dolphins beat Cobras to advance to final
Richard Levi’s 85 went in vain as a middle-order collapse meant Dolphins beat Cobras by 5 runs, to qualify for the final of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. Dolphins, who won the toss and chose to bat, put on 178/3 thanks to fifties from both openers and a cameo from Kevin Pietersen.
Cobras, who were 77/0 after the power play and needed just 49 off the last seven overs with eight wickets in hand, collapsed spectacularly after Levi’s dismissal in the 14th over to hand the Dolphins a comfortable victory.
Dolphins openers got them off to the perfect start, as they were 84/0 after 10 overs. Cameron Delport was the first of the openers to get to his fifty, which he got to, in the 12th over with a switch hit. But he was dismissed three balls later with the score at 99/1.
Morne van Wyk got to his fifty in the following over with a pull over deep mid-wicket. Although the Dolphins slowed down slightly after and also lost van Wyk in the 16th over, the returning Kevin Pietersen ensured that the innings regained momentum.
Pietersen smashed 27 off 10 balls, before being dismissed in the 19th over trying to clear long on. David Miller then took over in the final over as he scored 19 runs, including two sixes and a four to end the Dolphins innings on 178/3.
Cobras got off to an even quicker start than the Dolphins, as they romped to 77/0 at the end of the power play. Levi got to his fifty off just 20 balls, in the seventh over, which also saw the dismissal of his opening partner, Wayne Parnell for 27.
Although Andrew Puttick fell in the following over, Levi kept the onslaught going as he was trying to replicate Chris Gayle’s knock earlier in the day. Although he got out 15 runs short of his century, in the 14th over, the Cobras were still in control of the run chase.
But they kept losing wickets at regular intervals and made the task much more difficult than it should be. The run rate was never more than a run-a-ball in the last few overs, but Cobras lost regular wickets thanks to some tight bowling.
Needing just 9 runs to win off the last over with four wickets in hand and a set batsman at the crease, Cobras got a couple of singles off the first two balls. They then lost two wickets in two balls and failed to score a run off the last three balls to lose by five runs.
Dolphins will now take on Titans, who booked their place by topping the group, in the final on Saturday.
Scorecard:
Dolphins:
| Cameron Delport | 55 (37) |
| Morne van Wyk* | 57 (49) |
| David Miller | 33* (24) |
| Kevin Pietersen | 27 (10) |
| Dwayne Bravo | 0* (2) |
| Total | 178/3 |
Bowling:
| Overs | Runs | Wickets | |
| Dane Paterson | 4 | 24 | 2 |
| Wayne Parnell | 3.4 | 29 | 0 |
| Mthokozisi Shezi | 4 | 52 | 0 |
| Rory Kleinveldt | 2.2 | 18 | 0 |
| Sybrand Engelbrecht | 4 | 33 | 0 |
| Robin Peterson | 2 | 19 | 1 |
Cobras:
| Richard Levi | 85 (43) |
| Wayne Parnell | 27 (22) |
| Andrew Puttick | 3 (4) |
| Lesiba Ngoepe | 32 (26) |
| Rory Kleinveldt | 4 (5) |
| Justin Ontong* | 9 (12) |
| Robin Peterson | 3 (4) |
| Sybrand Engelbrecht | 1* (3) |
| Dane Paterson | 0 (1) |
| Omphile Ramela | 0* (0) |
| Total | 173/8 |
Bowling:
| Overs | Runs | Wickets | |
| Rabian Engelbrecht | 2 | 32 | 0 |
| Dwayne Bravo | 4 | 27 | 1 |
| Andile Phehlukwayo | 4 | 28 | 2 |
| Keshav Maharaj | 4 | 35 | 2 |
| Ayavuya Myoli | 3 | 27 | 1 |
| Cameron Delport | 2 | 14 | 1 |
| Khaya Zondo | 1 | 7 | 0 |