A second wicket partnership of 117 off 122 balls between Gulam Bodi and Francois ”Faf” du Plessis guided the Titans to a comfortable seven wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their MTN domestic championship match at Supersport Park on Tuesday.
Chasing a rain-adjusted target of 199 to win, Bodi and Heino Kuhn put on 44 for the first wicket before was Kuhn out for 17, caught behind by Tatenda Taibu off Gary Brent. Bodi and Du Plessis then took control of the match, as they got stuck into the Zimbabwe attack. Bodi fell when the Titans were just 34 runs short of victory, caught by Vusi Sibanda off Hamilton Masakadza for 66.
Martin van Jaarsveld made just one run before being caught at mid-on by Elton Chigumbura but Albie Morkel and Du Plessis took the Titans to 201 for three with an over to spare. Man of the match Du Plessis finished not out on 87 off 84 balls, including seven fours and three towering sixes. Morkel was not out on 20, having smashed a boundary and two sixes.
Despite two rain interruptions, Sibanda and Masakadza got Zimbabwe off to an excellent start with a first wicket stand of 107 off 113 balls. However, slow left arm bowler Roelf van der Merwe, playing in his debut match for the Titans, broke the partnership when he took the first of four wickets, with Sibanda caught behind by Kuhn for 49. Hamilton Masakadza recorded his 15th limited overs 50 at a run a ball before being out leg before wicket to Van der Merwe for 56.
Zimbabwe then wsuffered something of a collapse, with Van der Merwe claiming the wickets of Tatenda Taibu (2) and Elton Chigumbura (0), and Du Plessis taking two wickets to get rid of Sean Williams (27) and Brendan Taylor (12). Graeme Cremer was run out for 15 by Farhaan Behardien, Regis Chakabva was bowled by Pierre Joubert for 20 and Brendon Reddy claimed the wicket of Gary Brent, who was caught by Albie Morkel in the last over. Van der Merwe finished ith figures of four
for 24 in his eight overs. Zimbabwe finished on 195 for nine. – Sapa