Despite losing the title to the Knights, the Titans have put themselves in a position to beat the Warriors and finish second.
It was a day which would have been difficult for Mark Boucher’s side to stay motivated. The Knights beat the Lions in the morning session at the Wanderers, which handed them the Sunfoil Series title, courtesy of more bonus points gained than the Titans in the final round of matches.
And indeed the Titans struggled on day three in Benoni, as a big century from Colin Ackermann lifted the Warriors to 354, setting the Titans a challenging target of 315.
The total was set up by a brilliant partnership between Simon Harmer (60) and Ackermann (150), who batted all the way through in the second session, in what was a 137-run stand.
Fortunately for the Titans, the last four wickets fell for only 18 runs to bring them back into the contest. While Ackermann was the star of the innings, there’s been another man who’s performed better than him throughout the match, and that’s Shaun von Berg.
After scoring a century, the spinner went on to pick up six second-innings wickets, collecting a 10-wicket haul.
The Titans will now feel confident chasing down the target, for Heino Kuhn (20) and Dean Elgar (29) did well to navigate the final 19 overs in the evening session to head in to day four on 49-0, 266 runs away from the target.
Meanwhile in Durban, the Cobras are better-placed than the Dolphins going in to day four. They’ll go in to day four on 156-3, with a healthy lead of 208 runs.
An early declaration will be needed, should they go in search of the victory, but judging by their run rate (2.29) they might just end up settling for the draw.
Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
