Pieter Malan scored his third Sunfoil Series century just as bad light stopped play, with the Titans holding the Cobras to 272-5 in Benoni.
The visitors had been in an even stronger position at 204-2, after Malan and Stiaan van Zyl had put on 104 in 22 overs.
For Malan, this was merely a continuation of his superlative form throughout this campaign. He really has stepped up since being awarded a Cobras contract for this season, after impressing with Western Province. He had scored 446 runs in seven innings in the first round of five matches, with a highest score of 195. Switching seamlessly from the Momentum One-Day Cup – where he topped the run list with 615 from 11 innings – he added another 103 off 224 balls.
The 28-year-old first shared a partnership of 77 with Zubayr Hamza (38) and then anchored the innings as Van Zyl opened up to score a rapid fifty off 76 balls.
Van Zyl, who joined the Cobras after Justin Ontong moved to Proteas pastures, looked completely at home, despite the fact he last played first-class cricket with Sussex in September and has been amusing himself in the Bangladesh Premier League in the interim.
Once he went, the third of Eldred Hawken’s three strikes, Malusi Siboto stepped in with two quick wickets, but not before Kyle Verreynne (28), another ‘rookie’ in the Cobras camp, had helped put on 52 for the fourth wicket.
Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images
