Nail-biting semi-finals in T20 challenge
In the first semi-final, Kings won the toss and put PSCC into bat first.
Port Shepstone Country Club (PSCC) hosted two semi-finals in the local T20 Challenge that saw the Kings take on the PSCC side, while Knockouts locked horns with the Hibiscus Ballies last Sunday.
In the first semi-final, Kings won the toss and put PSCC into bat first. The opening pair of Theo Nicolls and Minhas Ayoub kept things tight in the first 8 overs
Thanks to heroics from Brandon Hooke, who soldiered on after taking a blow to the jaw from a top edge and ended with figures of 55 from 30 balls and ably assisted by a captain’s knock from Rowan Schoeman (21 from 14), PSCC set a decent total of 139-9 in their 20.
In reply the Kings found themselves in trouble early on losing 3 quick wickets with just 22 runs on the board. Up stepped Mohamed Moolla who shared a good partnership with youngster Willem Buitendag and then Osman Moosa 31 and 45 respectively. In the end Kings lost by a nail-biting 4 runs, while PSCC marched on to the finals.
In the second semi-final between Hibiscus Ballies and Knockout, touted as the Abdullah Dudhat versus Anthon Potgieter show, Knockout batted first and set a daunting score of 160 runs in their 20 overs with Abdullah top scoring on 90 runs in just 56 balls.
In reply Anthon Potgieter got off to a good start, but once he was dismissed for 57 by captain Ashraf Mulla who was pick of the Knockout bowlers with figures of 4 wickets for 22 runs in his 4 overs, Hibiscus Ballies run chase fizzled out and in the end Knockout won by a comfortable 38 run margin, setting up a great final.
Port Shepstone Country Club hosts the 3rd place playoff between Kings and Hibiscus Ballies at 8:00 as well as a monster final between PSCC and Knockout at 13:00 this Sunday (27th).
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