Titans stay on winning track

The Titans still need to address their batting but their bowling and fielding were outstanding enough for them to beat the Cape Cobras by 16 runs for a second successive victory in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead yesterday.

Defending just 149, the Titans bowlers were impressively accurate and adapted especially well to a pitch which did make it hard for the batsmen to score freely, bowling the Cobras out for 132.

Part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram opened the bowling and conceded just three runs and the seamers were then all bang on the money as the Cobras struggled to just 24/2 in the powerplay.

The Cobras just could not break the shackles and they were 87/5 after 16 overs, needing 62 runs from the last 24 balls when George Linde did put the Titans under some pressure by hitting spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three consecutive sixes in the 17th over.

It gave the Cobras a glimmer of hope as they then needed 39 off the last three overs to win, but the impressive Lizaad Williams then bowled Linde (37 off 21) with a superb yorker.

Lungi Ngidi (above) and Chris Morris also bowled outstanding overs at the death as the Titans conceded just 22 runs and claimed five wickets in the last three overs.

Ngidi, using slower balls as his preferred weapon of attack, led the way with brilliant figures of 3/18, while Morris finished with 2/21 and Williams 2/25.

The Titans had chosen to bat first, but for all the talents of Proteas Markram (10), Dean Elgar (31), Theunis de Bruyn (12) and Heinrich Klaasen (7), they needed a wee gem of an innings by Sibonelo Makhanya to get to 148/6.

Busy from the outset, Makhanya lifted the run-rate with his energetic intent and used the slogsweep to great effect to score 47 off 33 balls.

The three Cobras spinners – Linde, Imraan Manack and Siyabonga Mahima – were impressive, with Linde leading the way with 2/23 in his four overs.

Paceman Corbin Bosch also bowled extremely well for his 1/24.