Spinners gets Titans a bonus point
by Bruno Dunn 11 November 2012, 16:49
A brilliant 107 from 116 deliveries by Heino Kuhn and five for 26 from Roelof van der Merwe helped the Nashua Titans defeat the Chevrolet Knights by 81 runs in their Momentum One Day Cup match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.
Full Scorecard – Titans v Knights
Sent in to bat, the Titans posted a competitive 285/9, then bowled out the Knights for 204 in the 37th over to register a comprehensive win.
The Titans started conservatively, managing only 36 runs from their opening 10 overs.
They made a brave decision to take the power play at the start of the 12th over and it immediately paid dividends. The run-rate increased substantially as the Titans brought up their 100 in the 19th over.
Mangaliso Mosehle and Kuhn built a fantastic partnership. The former brought up his maiden List-A 50 at a run a ball. In the next over, his partner Kuhn brought up his 11th List-A 50 from 55 balls.
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Dean Elgar then decided to call on his experienced spinner, Nicky Boje. The left-armer didn’t disappoint. He picked up the much needed wicket of Mosehle, caught by Pienaar for 69 from 64 deliveries in the 24th over.
The Titans reached 200 in the 34th over, their fourth 50 coming up in 39 balls.
The 40th over saw two milestones achieved: Martin van Jaarsveld reached his 58th List-A 50 from 47 deliveries with a perfectly timed hook shot; then three balls later, a leg-bye brought up their 100 partnership from 98 deliveries.
Kuhn brought up his fourth List-A hundred from 108 deliveries with a single to square leg.
Kuhn finally departed for 107 from 116 deliveries when he was caught by Rilee Rossouw in the covers from a Johan van der Wath slower ball. He was soon joined in the pavilion by Van Jaarsveld when he was caught at mid-on by Obus Pienaar for 64 from 57 deliveries.
The procession continued with Albie Morkel being caught at fine-leg for one, David Wiese caught at deep-extra-cover for three, CJ de Villiers trapped LBW for one, Farhaan Behardien caught at slip for one and Paul Harris caught at third-man for one.
The Titans had managed to lose seven wickets for 16 runs.
When the Titans had the ball in hand, they never looked in any trouble.
Apart from Reeza Hendricks's 59 from 64 deliveries, no-one managed a score of any significance.
Rossouw scored a quickfire 43 from 29 deliveries and Ryan McLaren contributed 22 from his 28 balls faced.
The Knights needed to score more than 228 to deny the Titans a bonus point, but that was always out of their reach.
The Titans spinners were just too good for the Knights batsmen. The stand-out bowler was Roelof van der Merwe, who took five for 26 in 8.3 overs. Henry Davids chipped in with four wickets with his off-spin for 43 runs in his allotted 10 overs.
The bonus-point win will help the Titans leap-frog the Knights into second place on the table with nine points.
NASHUA TITANS – Henry Davids, Heino Kuhn, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Martin van Jaarsveld (capt), Farhaan Behardien, David Wiese, Albie Morkel, Roelof van der Merwe, CJ de Villiers, Paul Harris, Ethy Mbhalati
CHEVROLET KNIGHTS: Ryan Bailey, Reeza Hendricks, Rilee Rossouw, Dean Elgar (capt), Obus Pienaar, Ryan McLaren, Nicky Boje, Johan van der Wath, Dillon du Preez, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jean-Pierre Triegaardt (w/k)
