Left-arm spinner Paul Harris wreaked havoc with the Dolphins’ batsmen after lunch on the second day of the four-day Supersport Series cricket match at Kingsmead on Friday and earned the Titans an unexpected lead of 48 runs before bad light again caused an early stoppage.
It is most unusual for a spinner to dictate terms at this ground in modern times, so the performance of Harris was all the more meritorious considering he also effected a direct-hit run out to end a sparkling innings of 80 by Imraan Khan and turn the match on its head.
Added to that, he scored a valuable late-order 10 in a defiant late partnership in securing the Titans score of 274 to which the Dolphins — rather irresponsibly, one would think — slipped to 199. In their second innings, restricted to 2,3 overs because of bad light, the Titans got six without loss.
At one time it seemed as though the Dolphins would bat their way to a big lead after reaching 151 for three, but then the next seven wickets tumbled for 48 in dramatic fashion.
Harris went on to secure five wickets for 32 runs off 15 controlled overs — three of them for eight in a spell of three successive overs — and over and above that, Hashim Amla, who had been in such magnificent form this season with 359 runs to his credit, was yorked off the ninth ball he faced from Ethy Mbhalati without scoring.
Ahmed Amla scored a brisk 52 with nine fours, but then played a really poor shot after reaching his half-century in 102 minutes to become a Harris victim.
But the innings of the day belonged to Imraan Khan. He was totally in charge of the situation and heading towards a possible second successive century when the direct-hit run out sent him back to the dressing room. Khan’s 80 included 11 boundaries and came off 186 balls in an innings of 258 minutes.
Lance Klusener, who also claimed five wickets (for 73 runs in 18 overs) and had a run out to his credit, again played a cameo innings of 21 that included five powerful fours and a single.
But the question must be asked again: Why is he batting at number nine instead of six or seven at most?
The Dolphins had made quick work of disposing of the troublesome Titans lower order in an inspiring morning spell — started early because of lost time on day one and under a tight cloud cover — and claimed the remaining five first innings wickets for 79 runs.
The troublesome partnership between Pierre de Bruyn (65) and Kruger van Wyk (32) that saw 57 added for the sixth wicket was broken early on and only then did Paul Harris (10) and Alfonso Thomas (24) resist for 167 balls in an eighth-wicket stand of 49 runs.
Wicketkeeper Darren Smit, standing in for the injured Duncan Brown, picked up four excellent catches. Added to that, he and Klusener combined to perform a smart run out of last man Ethy Mbhalati. — Sapa