Three wickets in seven balls by Lance Klusener and a great throw from the cover boundary from Yusuf Abdullah that ran out troublesome late-order batsman Morne Morkel (11) as he attempted a second run sent the Titans packing on Sunday.
The win sees the Dolphins play an away semifinal against the Cobras after they beat the Titans by 30 runs in their MTN Domestic League cricket match at the Maritzburg Oval.
It was a result that may not have been expected after the Dolphins had only managed 200 for six off their 45 overs and the Titans had begun their innings in a rollicking way.
But Klusener then bowled Gerald Dros (15), Heino Kuhn (0) and Alfonso Thomas (0) in an inspired spell and the Titans innings had been wrecked when victory was firmly in their sights.
Earlier, Dolphins skipper Ahmed Amla, who scored 72, coupled with 48 from opener Doug Watson, set the Dolphins on their way.
Having been sent in by the Titans after they had lost the toss, the Dolphins were quickly in trouble on 31 for two as they batted under leaden skies and a slight drizzle at the start of the match.
Before Watson and Ahmed got together in an enterprising third-wicket stand of 70 off 125 balls and a stay of 80 minutes, the Dolphins had lost Imraan Khan and Hashim Amla cheaply.
A fourth-wicket stand of 63 followed in 44 minutes between Ahmed and Dale Benkenstein as the Dolphins began to apply the pressure on the Titans bowlers — until the return of Morne Morkel, who in rapid succession got rid of Ahmed, Benkenstein (32) and Jon Kent (0).
That reduced the Dolphins to 196 for six, but with overs running out, big-hitting Lance Klusener came in too late.
Morkel was the star bowler for the Titans with three for 31 off nine overs.
For the Dolphins, Ahmed Amla batted 80 minutes and had five fours to his name before he played a rash shot to be caught by Brendon Reddy.
Watson was also out to a tame shot as he was snapped up by Alfonso Thomas after a watchful 115 minutes at the crease. He reached the boundary ropes on six occasions. Benkenstein’s 32 in 44 minutes was to prove invaluable in the context of the match as a whole.
The Titans’ drama-laden opening partnership was broken with Gulam Bodi adjudged leg before for 14. After that they lost their way to slump to 85 for five after 17,3 overs.
Only Pierre de Bruyn stood firm as he batted 101 minutes to score a gutsy 47 before being bowled by Johan Louw to end the Titans’ innings.
Lions decimated
Meanwhile, on a blustery Sunday in Cape Town, the Cape Cobras decimated the Lions with a convincing all-round display. They won their MTN Domestic Championship match by 93 runs at Newlands. This ensured the Cape team second place on the log, and a semifinal date at the same venue next Sunday.
Neil McKenzie chose to field first on a pitch that looked like a good batting strip but which had been under the covers for the past few days. Openers Adam Bacher and Andrew Puttick made steady progress, helped by a generous dose of extras.
Charl Langeveldt started his spell with a hat-trick of legside wides to bring up the fifty in the 11th over. Puttick, the form batsman in the team, departed in the 17th over chasing a wide delivery, and runs started to dry up. The experiment of sending in Alan Dawson as a pinch hitter failed as he was run out for a duck attempting a quick run into the covers.
At one stage the Lions bowled four maidens in five overs before JP Duminy started to play some elegant strokes. In fact, the second 50 took 90 balls as opposed to the 70 for the first.
The introduction of Claude Henderson to the attack proved to be a turning point. Both Bacher and Duminy hit sixes in his first two overs, with Bacher enjoying the shorter mid-wicket boundary on the railway side of the ground. He sprinted from 50 to the hundred mark off just 36 balls, recording his eighth century in this form of the game.
Duminy played sweetly when he managed to get the strike, and the pair posted a partnership of 134 off 138 balls, a new record for the Cobras. With the foundation well set, the hitters were able to post a total of 254 for four, also a new Cobras record. Bacher finished unbeaten on 118 (140 balls, 11 fours and three sixes).
It could have been even worse for the visitors but Langeveldt impressed at the death with a fine final over that yielded just five runs.
The Lions made a poor start. Dawson got some good away swing going to dismiss Werner Coetsee and McKenzie in his first spell, while Rory Kleinveldt tempted Justin Ontong to chase a wide delivery in his first over. Alviro Petersen stood firm, going to his 50 off just 48 balls. However, the middle-order players failed to match his enterprise as the game started slipping away from the visitors. As early as the 13th over the required rate rose to six to the over.
Any hope of a dramatic comeback faded as left-arm spinner Con de Lange took a fine catch off his own bowling to dismiss the big-hitting Tyrone Henderson, and than had Petersen well caught at mid-wicket in his next over.
The former Titans player made his 68 off 74 balls (eight fours), but his departure signalled the beginning of the end. Tail-enders Langeveldt and Friedel de Wet hit out merrily to record a partnership of 36 off just 34 balls, the best of the innings, to provide a crowd of about 3 600 with some entertainment.
Dawson returned to claim the final wicket with Prince holding on to a skied catch. He became the first Cobras player to take three catches in a match, which was some compensation for not having a knock.
Bacher was the obvious man of the match, even though his medium pacers were not needed on the day. It signalled a welcome return to form at the business end of the season. His former Lions teammates finished their MTN season in fifth place and out of the semifinal mix. — Sapa