Everything falls apart for Cobras
PRETORIA: On paper, with two teams filled with international talent, this had the makings of a classic, however on the field the big crowd at SuperSport Park yesterday witnessed boring one-sided affair.
The Cape Cobras’ players and coaching staff will have some serious questions to ask themselves following a dreadful trio of performances in Gauteng in the first week of the T20 Challenge.
Everything fell apart yesterday, starting with their batsmen, who, skipper JP Duminy besides, failed to come to terms with a difficult two-paced surface.
That the Cobras didn’t read the pitch early enough is worrying, given the experience in their line-up. They lost openers Hashim Amla and Wayne Parnell early, with both trying to go too hard at the ball.
The best period of the Cobras’ innings came when Duminy and Temba Bavuma added 31 runs off 29 balls for
the third wicket, but their inability to rotate the strike more efficiently saw the pressure build. By the halfway stage of the innings they were scoring at barely a run-a-ball, and the Titans had called on their spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Aiden Markram to turn the screws further.
The pair combined for eight overs conceding just 36 runs while picking up a wicket apiece, with Shamsi’s dismissal of Jason Smith with one that ripped into the right-hander a highlight. Shamsi produced a spectacular moment in the field as well, taking a one-handed catch diving forward after sprinting in off the third man boundary to dismiss Qaasim Adams.
Dale Steyn delivered a performance that was reminiscent of his best work. His pace while not yet at its peak is beginning to improve, while he also showed great control through his four-over burst.
“The more competitive cricket I play, the better I’m starting to feel. Playing cricket is quite tough, and maybe fourday cricket, bowling 16 overs a day is a bit hard for me right now. But I feel I’m getting stronger,” Steyn said, who finished with 2/16.
Duminy top scored for the Cobras with 40, but their final total of 119/9 was hopelessly inadequate against such a powerful batting line-up.
Vernon Philander provided some early reasons for optimism picking up the opening pair inside the first three overs, but a rush of boundaries from AB de Villiers quickly regained the initiative for the hosts. Markram after surviving a scary moment, when he misjudged a single, notched up a fine half-century as the Titans coasted to their third bonus-point victory of the competition.