Published: Dec 13, 2014, 06:19 AM (IST)
Edited: Dec 13, 2014, 06:51 AM (IST)
Dec 13, 2014
The Cape Cobras were declared winners of the third edition of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge when they beat Knights in the final held at Cape Town on Friday. The Cape Cobras posted a total of 158 for the loss of four wickets in their designated 20 overs while the Knights could manage only 125 in reply for the loss of nine wickets at the end of their innings.
The star for the winning side was Kieron Pollard, who chipped in with a useful knock of 43 from 23 balls, before taking three wickets in a single over to seal the fate for the Knights. The West Indian all-rounder ended with figures of three for 21 from his quota of four overs.
According to inputs from supersport.com, The Cobras were handed an early blow when they lost opener Richard Levi, who departed after scoring a solitary run, with just five runs on the board. Hashim Amla and Dane Vilas managed to steady things for the Cobras with a 41-run partnership. Both were dismissed in the 20s.
With the Knights appearing to have an upper hand during this stage of the match, Pollard decided to get his side’s run-rate into the forward gear, adding a valuable 68-run fourth-wicket stand off 37 balls with Omphile Ramela. The stand guided the Cobras to a total of 158, a competitive one given the conditions.
With the required run-rate set at 7.9 at the start of the second innings, the Knights needed a strong opening stand if they were to build a platform for chasing the total down. While Gerhardt Abrahams was dismissed without making much of a difference, the major blow for the Knights occurred with Reeza Hendricks dismissal off the bowling of Justin Ontong on a score of 41 from 35 balls. Dane Paterson removed Rilee Rossouw with a full-toss within a couple of overs, with the batsman departing on a score of 33.
The Cobras managed to maintain a strangle on the Knights from that point onwards, with wickets falling for the latter at regular intervals. It was however, the 17th over bowled by Pollard that sealed the fate of the game. Paterson managed to record figures of four for 33 to emerge the pick among the bowlers. Pace spearhead Dale Steyn went wicketless, though he conceded only 11 runs from four overs at an miserly economy of 2.75.
Brief scores:
Cape Cobras 158 for 4 in 20 overs (Omphile Ramela 54, Kieron Pollard 43*; Obus Pienaar 1 for 6) beat Knights 125 for 9 in 20 overs (Reeza Hendricks 41, Rilee Rossouw 33; Dane Paterson 4 for 33, Kieron Pollard 3 for 21) by 33 runs.
