Cape Town – Titans captain Theunis de Bruyn led his team to a comprehensive victory over the Lions in Port Elizabeth on Thursday, to place them on the brink of semi-final qualification in the CSA T20 Challenge.
The Sky Blues’ momentum has steadily grown since their opening defeat to the Warriors, as they have now won four matches in a row to sit in second place behind the table-toppers Western Province.
De Bruyn, who has been struggling for runs previously, also rediscovered his mojo with an undefeated 63 from 51 balls.
The skipper was ably supported by Heinrich Klaasen (44) with the pair adding 106 runs for the fourth Titans wicket. It was a crucial partnership after the Lions had picked up the big scalps of Quinton de Kock (22) and Dewald Brevis (7) within the Powerplay.
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The Lions, meanwhile, will need to reflect on yet another disappointing all-round performance. Despise shuffling around their batting line-up with Kagiso Rapulana (31) joining Reeza Hendricks (41) at the top, which yielded some positive results with the pair contributing 53 runs for the first wicket, there were precious few other contributions.
Only Sisanda Magala’s lower-order pyrotechnics of 33 not out off 18 balls ensured the Lions posted a respectable total, but they will need to head back to the drawing board over the next couple of days as the defending champions are now in grave danger of missing out on the playoffs entirely.
