Durban – A clinical display by Keshav Maharaj and Prenelan Subrayen with the ball saw the Hollywoodbets Dolphins to a nine-wicket win over the Imperial Lions in their 4-Day Domestic Series clash at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead on Thursday.
The Lions began the final day on 73 for three, trailing the Dolphins by 125 runs but the spinning pair of Maharaj and Subrayen did all the hard leg work which helped spin them to victory on a spinner friendly pitch.
Maharaj picked up the first three wickets of the Lions’ innings wickets on Wednesday afternoon and continued in the same vein on Thursday with three more wickets.
Subrayen bagged three important wickets on the final morning seeing off overnight batsmen Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton before he claimed the wicket of Dwaine Pretorius.
After his effort with the ball Maharaj believed that it was a strong team effort that allowed him the freedom with the ball in the Lions’ second innings.
“It’s really nice to be back in a competitive environment and the boys did really well,” Maharaj said.
“We did the basics well and Ortneill (Baartman) set the tone and then KP (Keegan Petersen) and SJ (Erwee) played exceptionally well and that is what we have wanted from the side for a long time.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season and we are hoping to carry that form into the rest of the campaign.”
Coach Imraan Khan was happy with the way the side performed over the four days despite a tough start in the first session of day one.
“We struggled in the first session of the game probably due to the slowness of the surface but after that the execution was fantastic,” Khan said.
“We had a little chat at tea on day one and I think the boys executed brilliantly after that for the rest of the four days.”
The Dolphins will now travel to Bloemfontein to face the VKB Knights in their second-round clash at the Mangaung Oval next week.
