Four-day final Titans’ very last chance to get silverware in the showcase
The Titans will get their very last chance to break the trophy drought at SuperSport Park this week when they take on the Lions at the Wanderers in Johannesburg in the final of the current season's 4Day Series (Division 1).
After a thrilling final round in Cricket SA’s 4Day Series (Division 1), which concluded this past weekend, the Lions and the Titans finally finished as the two top teams on the log and these two Gauteng franchises will clash in the final of the tournament from Thursday 10 April in Johannesburg.
Although Neil Brand and his men’s match against Boland ultimately ended in a draw due to interruptions in adverse weather conditions, the results in other matches went in their favour, enabling them to finish second on the log and qualify for the final.
The Dolphins narrowly missed out on a place in the final after suffering an agonising last day defeat to the Warriors in the only completed match of the weekend played in Port Elizabeth.
The Durban side went down by 37 runs following a valiant chase at St George’s Park late on day four, handing the Titans a ticket to this week’s first-class decider.
Photo: Titans
Both finalists saw their final round regular-season matches washed out. The table-topping Lions (115.14 points) had their tie against the Knights abandoned without a single ball being bowled in Bloemfontein, while the Titans (108.56), did just about enough to reach the final in their drawn match with Boland, which saw just under 135 overs bowled in Centurion.
The Titans did all they could have done in the overs that were played. They dismissed Boland relatively cheaply for 252 at SuperSport Park despite a ton for Pieter Malan (118 off 248 balls).
Then in reply, the Centurion team’s batters were sensational. Rivaldo Moonsamy struck an attacking 117 off 125 balls, Dewald Brevis plundered an unbeaten 80 off 57 balls and Neil Brand hit a run-a-ball 61.
That helped the home side to get 323 for six in 48.5 overs and secure the points they needed to hold on to second spot.
To make the chance of a result more realistic, the final will take place over five days, starting on Thursday (10 April) at the Wanderers.
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