The Titans made light work of the Warriors as they eased to a 10-wicket win in their CSA 4-Day Series match at St Georges Park in Gqeberha on Saturday.
An 80-run partnership between Sinethemba Qeshile (85) and Duanne Olivier (42) saved the Warriors' blushes as they were left clinging on to the edge, needing something extraordinary to claw their way back into the contest. The home side found themselves in all sorts of trouble overnight at 115/6, still trailing the Titans by a massive 70 runs.
Qeshile, who has been one of the standout players in a season where the Eastern Cape-based side have struggled to string a few results together, scored his 18th career first-class half-century.
The home side limped to 244 all out, leaving them with undefendable target of 59 runs, which the Titans easy chased down without the loss of any wickets. Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 18-year-old, stood out as the difference between the sides, with his maiden century ensuring that the former champions maintained pressure on the home side throughout the contest.
Junior Dala and Merrick Brett enjoyed a fantastic outing, picking up nine wickets between them in the first innings, with Dala ending on match figures of 8/84. The Warriors will head into the break winless in five matches, while the Titans secured a timely second win of the campaign, propelling them into second position in the top half of the table.
Elsewhere, the Dolphins were 300/8 at stumps on Day 3 of their four-day contest at the Kingsmead in Durban. The home side still trail Boland by 81 runs, after the Paarl-based side had declared their first innings at 381/7. Hanu Viljoen was unbeaten on 80 at the close of play and his wicket on Sunday could hold the key to shaping the result on the final day.
Glenton Stuurman (3/55) and Shaun von Berg (3/47) caused the most damage with the ball. Their efforts, however, couldn’t prevent Tshepang Dithole (51) and Prenelan Subrayen (82) from contributing two useful half-centuries to consume more time in out in the middle.
The washed-out first day seems likely to have an impact on the result, but quick wickets for either team Sunday could lead to an unlikely outcome.