File Photo – JJ Smuts coupled his 56-ball 33 with figures of 5.3-2-4-4 against Knights © CPL/Sportsfile
Warriors captain JJ Smuts‘ all-round show – a 56-ball 33 and returns of 4 for 4 – headlined his side’s emphatic 64-run win over Knights in a low-scoring contest in Kimberley. The bonus-point victory was the first for Warriors after three games in this season of the Momentum One Day Cup.
Chasing 186, Knights lost their openers, Grant Mokoena and Rudi Second, in the space of three balls across the 10th and 11th overs with 34 runs on the board. Pite van Biljon, the Knights captain, took the lead in a 47-run partnership for the third wicket with Leus du Plooy, who made 5. Once that partnership was broken, with du Plooy’s wicket, Knights capitulated, losing eight wickets for 40 runs, and were bowled out for 121 in the 36th over.
Van Biljon top-scored with a 60-ball 43 that included six fours and one six before his dismissal off Smuts in the 27th over gave Warriors a clear edge. Smuts’ left-arm spin also accounted for the Knights tail, as he cleaned up Marchant de Lange and Mbulelo Budaza in the space of three balls in the 34th over, and ended Dillon du Preez‘s knock to finish with career-best returns of 4 for 4 in 5.3 overs. This was also his first List A four-for.
All of Warriors’ top-six batsmen got starts after the side opted to bat, but no batsman went on to score more than 35. Smuts was the top scorer with 33 off 56 balls but Warriors kept losing wickets in clumps after promising partnerships. An eighth-wicket partnership of 38 between Sisanda Magala and Andrew Birch guided their side to 185, before they were bowled out in 47.5 overs. Seamers Shadley van Schalkwyk and du Preez took three wickets apiece.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo