The Warriors welcome the Multiply Titans to Buffalo Park in Ram Slam T20 Challenge action on Friday 17 November.
Following a disappointing opening day defeat against the VKB Knights, the Warriors will have it all to do on Friday evening if they’re to claim the points against the Multiply Titans.
The Pretoria franchise are two from two and will be confident of extending their lead at the top of the table in East London. It’s all shaping up quite nicely as last season’s finalists prepare to clash at Buffalo Park, let’s take a look.
Warriors vs Titans | Friday 17 November | Buffalo Park, East London | 18:00
To Win Match
Warriors 37/20 | Tie 35/1 | Multiply Titans 42/100
Warriors
The Warriors were soundly beaten by the VKB Knights in the opening match of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge. They unfortunately found themselves on the wrong side of a Theunis de Bruyn and David Miller pasting as Nicky Boje’s men ran out eight-wicket victors.
That defeat could have been a lot worse had Christiaan Jonker not helped himself to a 38-ball 61. The Warriors’ big three – Jon Jon Smuts, Colin Ingram and Colin Ackermann – all failed to impress with the bat last Friday and will need step up against a gun Titans side this week.
Indeed, the Warriors’ chances in this fixture will lie solely on these three. They showed exactly what they could do last season, finishing second on the standings off the back of Smuts and Ingram’s runs.
While they have the batsmen to get the job done, I’m not sure they can really compete with the ball. Sisanda Magala was solid in the first match, limiting the Knights’ scoring. However, his teammates weren’t as successful. Even the normally economic Andrew Birch conceded 37 runs from his four overs.
It doesn’t look good for the PE franchise. They’ll battle to contain the Titans’ batting line-up, even on what should be a slowish wicket in the Eastern Cape’s second city. If they are to get the points they so desperately need, their top order will need to get pile on the runs. Whether or not they have a 180 or 190 score in them remains to be seen.
Multiply Titans
The Titans have absolutely cruised to victory in their opening two matches and look as though they’ll do so once again in East London. Mark Boucher would have been disappointed not to get a bonus point in Kimberley on Wednesday evening and will want his team to bounce back with a five-pointer on Friday.
The big news for the franchise on the evening was the return of Dale Steyn who hadn’t played since his shoulder injury 12 months ago. The quick didn’t pull up any trees on his return, but finished with tidy enough figures of 3-25-1. You feel that Boucher will persist with Steyn over David Wiese.
With such a strong top and middle order, there really is no reason for the Pretoria franchise to lean on the all-round abilities of Wiese when they could just play an extra seamer instead. Albie Morkel, Steyn and Ngidi make up a frightening front three and will look to assert dominance over the Warriors early on.
Morkel was once again the pick of the bowlers, conceding just 10 runs in two while also picking up the valuable wicket of Grant Mokoena. He could have had the Knights’ opener twice in his first over, however, de Kock dropped a difficult chance while a second edge flew between wicketkeeper and slip for four.
If the trio are successful in making inroads against the Warriors’ top order early on, we’ll probably see yet another resounding Titans success. However, if they’re loose and allow Smuts and co. to settle in and get into any sort of rhythm, the Warriors will have every chance of upsetting the odds.
Verdict: Multiply Titans 42/100
The Titans breezed past two much stronger franchises in their opening encounters and should have very few problems beating the Warriors on Friday evening. Yet another leg to add to all of your weekend multiples.
