Titans: 168-9 (Makhanya 60, Moonsamy 34, Swanepoel 5-39)
Warriors: 156-7 (Mogakane 33, Hermann 32, Bosch 3-22)
Titans won by 12 runs
THE Titans broke the Warriors’ eight-match unbeaten streak at St Goerge’s Park on Friday, registering a 12-run victory, their third in the Cricket SA T20 Challenge.
Titans fast bowler, Lizaad Williams, set the tone from the Duckpond end for the visiting bowling attack, extracting swing under lights as they looked to defend 169 runs against the log-leaders in their own backyard.
Lungi Ngidi took the new ball from the Park Drive end to mark his return from injury and was taken apart by Warriors captain, Matthew Breetzke.
Breetzke smashed Ngidi for consecutive boundaries along the extra cover region and forced Titans captain, Aaron Phangiso, to make an immediate change from that end.
Williams accounted for opener Jiveshan Pillay (9) to hand the Titans their first scalp of the night.
Despite the early wicket, the Warriors looked in control with Breetzke (25) and Andile Mogakane (33) at the crease as the pair combined for a steady 31-run stand.
That was until spinner Neil Brand (1-21) was introduced into the attack as the left-arm orthodox accounted for Breetzke in his first over to break the Warriors’ momentum.
From that point onwards, Brand, alongside Dayyaan Galliem (1-23) and the entire Titans attack dried up the runs and soon after the wicket of Mogakane followed as he was bowled by delivery that kept low from Corbin Bosch (3-22)
Bosch went on to account for Jordan Hermann (32) and Patrick Kruger (5) to set up a much needed victory for the Pretoria-based outfit.
Earlier, the Titans batting order endured a shaky start as the young opening duo of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Steve Stolk took to the crease for the first time at St. George’s Park on Friday evening.
Stolk (8) was the first to go and Pretorius (4) followed soon after as Beyers Swanepoel continued his good run of form with the ball, leaving the Titans in trouble on 37-2. Two overs later, Swanepoel struck once again, removing a set batter in Rivaldo Moonsamy (34) to hand the Warriors their third scalp.
While Sibonelo Makhanya stood his ground against a relentless Warriors bowling attack, wickets kept falling at the opposite end with the hosts claiming six wickets inside 12 overs to leave the visitors in trouble on 84-6.
Makhaya (60), alongside the 40-year-old Aaron Phangiso (28), put together a heroic 74-run stand for the seventh-wicket and pushed the Titans to a respectable 158-7.
The Warriors picked up two more wickets and restricted the Titans to 168-9 in their allotted 20 overs with Swanepoel finishing with career-best figures of 5-39.