Dolphins canter to six wicket win over Titans

A week ago the KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins travel to Centurion in defence of the Discovery Health Challenge, leaving empty handed, they returned on Sunday (22nd) to take sweet revenge on Northern Titans by beating the hosts by six wickets in a fourth round Standard Bank Cup clash.

Set a stiff target of 247 in the 45 over allocation, Ahmed Amla and Shaun Pollock made short work of the Titans attack labouring in the glorious sunshine. A 144-run partnership between the youthful Amla and the more matured Pollock laid the foundation to a very impressive victory.

Amla scored a run-a-ball 90, his highest in limited overs, smashing seven fours and clearing the boundary on a further four occasions. What should have been his maiden limited overs hundred ended when caught in the outfield off the bowling of another veteran Steve Elworthy.

Pollock, not called on to bowl, had come in at number three and showed his class by stroking and timing his way to 72 off 77 balls, including five fours and a six off Pierre Joubert,.before he was caught at the wicket.

Lance Klusener (35*) and Hamish Amla (31*) took Natal to the six-wicket win with eight balls to spare.

The Dolphins had won the toss and on a fairly flat, hard and bouncy pitch elected to bowl first.

Three cheep wickets brought Neil McKenzie and Gerald Dross together who put on a 111-run partnership. McKenzie, not as fluent as he has been, scored a hard working 65 off 91 balls on a pitch that came on but generated a fair bit of bounce.

Dross, once getting to grips with the pace of the pitch, scored his fourth, but first hundred of the season, going to the three figure mark in 93 balls when he was run out. He powerfully scored eight boundaries and four sixes taking 44 runs off 23 balls faced from Lance Klusener.

A flurry at the end of the innings from Kruger van Wyk (29*) and Elworthy (14*) saw Northerns reach a good 246/6.