Cobras should not have won T20 title, but they did

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Newlands

THE Cobras had no right to beat the Knights by 33 runs to win the franchise T20 title at Newlands on Friday night, but they did.

A total of 158/4 should not have been enough to hold the Knights’ batting line-up. It was. The Cobras bowlers had no business limiting the visitors to a reply of 125/9. Again, they did.

Sometimes, the T20 format confounds its own best laid plans and delivers a contest worthy of the term. Last night was one of those times.

From Rilee Rossouw’s direct hit to run out Richard Levi as he stood almost still staring at the stumps at the non-striker’s end, to Omphile Ramela’s muscled 54 off 34 balls - 32 of his runs came in boundaries - to Dale Steyn delivering a masterclass in how to bowl brilliantly and not take a wicket, to Justin Ontong claiming five catches, this was a proper game of cricket.

It was won by a young fast bowler with attitude and gas to burn, Dane Patterson, who took 4/33, and Kieron Pollard, who swirled some fine bowling into a mix that was mostly gamesmanship to claim 3/21.

Reeza Hendricks and Rossouw were the only Knights frontline batsmen to wear the shining armour of double-figure scores with their efforts of 41 and 33. By contrast, only two of the six Cobras who slithered to the crease did not make it past 25.

Another fact on which the match turned was that Hendricks and Rossouw were dismissed 15 balls apart; the former by way of a stunning low return catch to the first delivery Ontong bowled in the match, the latter by Patterson with Ontong taking another fine catch at mid-on.

Not only was there no coming back from that brink for the Knights, they then lost five wickets for nine runs in two overs.

The win sealed the Cobras’ third triumph in seven seasons in this competition. They join the Titans as the only teams to have claimed three T20 titles in the dozen seasons of the tournament’s history.