A maiden century by Pieter Malan set up the Cobras for a 27-run win over the Highveld Lions in the Momentum One-Day Cup at Paarl.
Malan has really stepped up to the plate in this series, becoming the leading scorer with 489 runs in his eight innings at an average of 61.12. Against the Lions, he cruised to his new Momentum milestone, 124 off 132 balls, with 12 fours.
Having been sent in to bat, Zubayr Hamza and Malan set a solid base with 50 runs off 11 overs. Then Simon Khomari (79) joined Malan for a 164 partnership in 30 overs, which was broken by Aaron Phangiso’s second wicket, dismissing Malan with the score on 220.
Khomari continued the good fight, although he did not get a lot of support, lifting his career best from the 65 he scored against the Knights earlier in the week. But it was enough to offer the Lions a target of 274 at 5.46 an over.
The Lions just could not get going under a sustained and varied attack which cut short any partnership which began to look threatening. There was a wicket for five of the six bowlers used, with Rory Kleinveldt leading the way with 3-48.
Dominic Hendricks stood tall with 77 off 96 balls, and Dwaine Pretorius tried to inject some urgency into the innings with 46 off 41, but no other batsman was able to kick on.
The Titans’ bonus-point crushing of the Knights kept them at the top of the log, with the Cobras now two points behind.
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
