Everything seemed to go wrong for Cobras from the moment JP chose to bowl

Knights: 320/4 (Mokoena 75, Gous 74, Second 78*, Gous 66*, Duminy 2/44) Cape Cobras: 245 all out (Verreynne 54, Leie 4/65) Knights won by 75 runs

IN THE end, a hectic week of cricket finally caught up with the Cape Cobras. Playing their third One-Day Cup match within five days, they had nothing left in the tank at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein yesterday.

Coach Ashwell Prince would never use fatigue as an excuse for the 75-run bonus-point defeat to the Knights – their first win of the competition – but the Cobras were simply off the pace from ball one.

Considering they had despatched the very same outfit within 37 overs only last Wednesday at Newlands makes the result even less conceivable.

Everything seemed to go wrong for the Cobras from the moment captain JP Duminy won the toss and sent in the home team. Although the experiment of promoting Proteas slugger David Miller to open the batting was a failure after the left-hander was clean bowled by Dane Paterson for just eight, the remainder of the Knights innings flowed beautifully.

The hosts finally addressed their lack of partnerships throughout the competition with Grant Mokoena (75) and Andries Gous (74) putting on 113 runs for the second wicket before Mokoena was clean bowled by Duminy.

Although there was a mini-collapse when Gous and Keegan Petersen fell in quick succession to leave the Knights at 184/5 in the 38th over, the home team captain Rudi Second and Patrick Kruger ensured the early platform would not go to waste.

After smashing a hundred at Newlands last Wednesday, Kruger (66*) certainly has a liking for the Cobras bowlers .

He continued where he left off in Cape Town by sharing in an unbeaten stand of 135 for the fifth wicket from just 83 deliveries with Second (78*) which propelled the Knights to 320/4.

A major feature of the Knights innings was that the Cobras’ new-ball pair of Rory Kleinveldt (0/76) and Paterson (1/72) leaked the combined figures of 1/148 in 19 overs.

The Cobras batting unit did not fare much better. Each batsman besides all-rounder Dayyaan Galiem, who got a first ball duck, and last man Mthiwekhaya Nabe reached double figures.

There was another promising start for Zubayr Hamza (28 off 28 balls), but the young opener will need to make greater use of his opportunities if he wants to become a regular in the Cobras starting line-up.

Equally, the in-form trio of Pieter Malan (28), Simon Khomari (21) and Duminy (39) all got going, but unlike in previous matches when they all went on to make bigger contributions, they did not capitalise yesterday. Ultimately it was left to wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne (54) to keep the visitors in the game with a gutsy half-century, but the mountain was too steep to climb for the former South Africa Under-19 gloveman.

Knights leg-spinner Eddie Leie was also able to avenge his mauling at Newlands when Duminy smashed him for 37 runs in a single over as he claimed 4/65 to finish off the contest.

The Cobras can still secure a home semi-final should they beat the Warriors on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Titans held their nerve, and made the cavernous gap that exists between them and the rest even greater, as they defeated the Dolphins by 29 runs, at a partisan Oval in Pietermaritzburg yesterday.

Farhaan Behardien, who else, calmly steered his team out of a tricky corner, and then blazed his way to 88 at the end, to lift the Titans to 242/8.

Skipper Khaya Zondo was ill for the batting effort, and came as far down as No 7, trying to do what he could to rescue the situation.

But, as he ran out of partners – and energy – the Dolphins leader ran out of ideas, and eventually watched on as Mthokozisi Shezi was run out at the end of the 48th over, trying to go for a second.