Written by Jason Dewey for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Following a somewhat surprising midweek result in which the Sunfoil Dolphins were convincingly beaten at home by the Unlimited Titans. Both of those teams will be in action on Friday evening with the Dolphins away at Buffalo Park to the Warriors while the Titans travel to Cape Town for a tantalising clash with the Cape Cobras.
Cape Cobras 1/1
Draw 35/1
the Unlimited Titans 8/10
The Cobras side last went up against the Sunfoil Dolphins last weekend at SuperSport Park Centurion. Winning the toss and electing to field, the Cape side showed discipline and guile in their bowling performance, restricting a dangerous Dolphins side to just 148 in their 20 overs. Wayne Parnell was the pick of the bowlers that day, finishing on figures of 20-4 off of his allotted overs.
The Cobras got their chase off to the perfect start, with Richard Levi pummelling the ball to all parts of the ground. There was, however, an element of luck involved as he was dropped by Myoli while he was on four. He would go on to score 61 runs off of just 28 balls – the Cobras would eventually pass the Dolphins’ total with two balls remaining to win the match by five wickets.
The Titans went up against the Dolphins on Wednesday evening. Having lost the toss and asked to bat, the men from Pretoria got off to a brisk start thanks to a quick-fire 38 from Protea batsman / wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Some excellent bowling from the Dolphins sparked a collapse in the Titans’ ranks, losing five wickets in their last three overs to finish on an underwhelming 136-9.
The Pretoria franchise took to the field knowing they would need something special to defend such a meagre total. Fortunately, however, the Dolphins suicidal batting display saw just about all of their top order batsmen walk back to the dugout having suffered soft dismissals.
Verdict: Cobras 1/1
Although the Titans sit top of the pile at the moment, they didn’t have to play particularly well to beat the Dolphins. If the Cobra’s explosive top order can lay a sound foundation, the likes of Kieron Pollard, Wayne Parnell and Sybrand Engelbrecht should launch the Cape side to victory.
Chevrolet Warriors 27/20
Draw 35/1
Sunfoil Dolphins 6/10
The Warriors have had an indifferent start to their season having won two and lost three of their opening five matches. Last time out the men from PE showed their quality even though they went down to a star-studded Titans side. Having posted a competitive 149 with Colin Ackerman top scoring with 40, the men from the Eastern Cape would have quietly pleased with their work.
However, an opening stand of 71 from the Quinton de Kock and Henry Davids would ensure that the Titans’ middle order would cross the line quite comfortably in the end.
There is a massive Kevin Pietersen-sized hole in the Dolphins’ batting line-up at the moment. Having been exceptional in the first five games of the season, the big Englishman jetted out to Australia for the KFC Big Bash. This was underlined when the KZN franchise collapsed in spectacular fashion attempting to chase a measly 136 set by the Titans on Wednesday evening. Only Dwayne Bravo (27) and David Miller (12) would go on to reach double figures as the Dolphins were skittled for 70.
What they lack in batting prowess they make up for in the bowling department. Keshav Maharaj, Andile Phelukwayo and Ryan McLaren have been outstanding with the ball in hand this season. They are more than capable of restricting even the most dangerous batting line-ups to sub-par totals.
Verdict: Dolphins 6/10
Although they were poor last time out, I fully expect the Dolphins to bounce back with a victory against an out of sorts Warriors side on Friday evening.
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