Titans make things difficult for themselves with another draw
Hard work lies ahead for the Titans if they still want to be crowned champions in the national 4-day franchise tournament this year, following their unnecessary draw against the Warriors last week.
The Titans will probably have to win all four of their remaining games in the national 4-day franchise tournament if they want to stand a chance at being crowned champion in this tournament this year.
Mandla Mashimbyi’s men did themselves a disservice with their struggling performance last week against the Warriors at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The game finally ended in a draw, after the home team had to work hard to save themselves from defeat.
Only an excellent captain’s innings by Grant Thomson, assisted by a neat performance by Heinrich Klaasen, finally enabled the Titans to earn league points from the game when the draw was enforced at the end of play on day four.
Thomson got his 12th career century 103* (153 balls), while Klaasen ended on 66* off 159 balls with the home team chasing 322 for victory. However, the Titans’ score stood at 249/4 by the time the game ended.
This means Thomson and his men were still 74 runs short to win the match, while the visitors from the Eastern Cape needed six wickets for a victory.
The Warriors had declared on their overnight 310 for seven earlier, leaving the Titans around 70 overs to get the runs. The Warriors started their second inning with a lead of only eleven runs, which meant the home team had to score 322 to win.
But they fell into early trouble when Kelly Smuts’ (2/20) double left them on 50 for four.
That forced an initial rethink by skipper Thomson and Klaasen, before they later attacked. But they were never going to get there following the poor start and had to settle for a draw.
The Titans’ bowlers probably hurt their team’s chances when they allowed the visitors to score over 300 runs in their second innings. Tabraiz Shamsi (3/91) was the only bowler to take more than one wicket in the innings.
After this game the men from Centurion are now fourth on the log. So, they will aim for four wins in their remaining four games, while they will hold thumbs that the Lions, who are currently convenient log leaders, will suffer some defeats.
The Titans will play in Cape Town this week (January 13-16) against the Cape Cobras.
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