A brilliant unbeaten 23-run ninth wicket stand between Border’s Aya Gqamane and Sisanda Magala saw the Warriors edge their way into the semifinals of the 2017-2018 Momentum One Day Cup competition with a nervy two-wicket victory over the Knights at Buffalo Park last night.
The side managed the feat with a game to spare after the Dolphins claimed an easy win over the Lions in Durban to make sure that both the Lions and Knights would be unable to catch the Warriors ahead of tomorrow’s final round of fixtures.
It was a decent all-round performance from the home side, which ended in nail biting circumstances as a batting collapse had the Warriors in all sorts of trouble, before Gqamane (14no) and Magala (9no) bailed them out, with Gqamane beautifully driving Marchant de Lange to the fence in the 41st over to seal the win.
First captain Jon-Jon Smuts, 3/31, and Colin Ackermann, 3/33, helped limit the Knights to 216 all out.
Warriors openers Gihahn Cloete and Lesiba Ngoepe enjoyed a 70-run partnership in 8.3 overs, before Ngoepe was bowled by Werner Coetsee for a 17-ball 25 (3x4; 1x6).
Cloete was bowled by Ottniel Baartman for a run-a-ball 45 (9x4), with the Warriors on 85/2.
Smuts and Yaseen Vallie combined for a 58-run partnership, with the captain caught by Rudi Second off the bowling of former Border seamer Mbulelo Budaza for 43 off 40 balls (7x4; 1x6).
Vallie (20), Christiaan Jonker (8), Clyde Fortuin (1) and Colin Ackermann (23) all soon fell afterwards.
Earlier, Knights openers Grant Mokoena and Andries Gous got the visitors off to a steady start.
Opening bowlers Magala and Birch were miserly, with the first seven overs going for just 22 runs.
Colin Ackermann got the breakthrough as Mokoena was caught for 39 off 69 balls on the boundary by Aya Gqamane with the score on 91.
Captain Rudi Second joined Gous and they guided the visitors past the hundred mark in the 24th over.
Second had a run-a-ball 23 before he tried to hit one past Anrich Nortje, only for the bowler to take a smart catch in his follow through.
Gous was caught by Birch off his own bowling, for 70 off 110 balls.
Ackermann trapped David Miller (4) LBW and then had Patrick Kruger (12) caught by Christiaan Jonker as they slipped to 168/5.
In his final two overs Smuts bowled Werner Coetsee (7), had Marchant de Lange (2) spectacularly caught by a diving Gqamane, and saw Eddie Leie LBW for a first ball duck as they tumbled to 184/8.
Romano Terblanche (23) and Budaza (15) got them past the 200 mark, before Magala accounted for both in the final over with them all out with just a ball remaining. BCM mayor Xola Pakati and members of his mayoral committee were on hand to soak up a magnificent performance by the Warriors.
Border’s Gqamane leads Warriors to a nail biting victory
The side managed the feat with a game to spare after the Dolphins claimed an easy win over the Lions in Durban to make sure that both the Lions and Knights would be unable to catch the Warriors ahead of tomorrow’s final round of fixtures.
It was a decent all-round performance from the home side, which ended in nail biting circumstances as a batting collapse had the Warriors in all sorts of trouble, before Gqamane (14no) and Magala (9no) bailed them out, with Gqamane beautifully driving Marchant de Lange to the fence in the 41st over to seal the win.
First captain Jon-Jon Smuts, 3/31, and Colin Ackermann, 3/33, helped limit the Knights to 216 all out.
Warriors openers Gihahn Cloete and Lesiba Ngoepe enjoyed a 70-run partnership in 8.3 overs, before Ngoepe was bowled by Werner Coetsee for a 17-ball 25 (3x4; 1x6).
Cloete was bowled by Ottniel Baartman for a run-a-ball 45 (9x4), with the Warriors on 85/2.
Smuts and Yaseen Vallie combined for a 58-run partnership, with the captain caught by Rudi Second off the bowling of former Border seamer Mbulelo Budaza for 43 off 40 balls (7x4; 1x6).
Vallie (20), Christiaan Jonker (8), Clyde Fortuin (1) and Colin Ackermann (23) all soon fell afterwards.
Earlier, Knights openers Grant Mokoena and Andries Gous got the visitors off to a steady start.
Opening bowlers Magala and Birch were miserly, with the first seven overs going for just 22 runs.
Colin Ackermann got the breakthrough as Mokoena was caught for 39 off 69 balls on the boundary by Aya Gqamane with the score on 91.
Captain Rudi Second joined Gous and they guided the visitors past the hundred mark in the 24th over.
Second had a run-a-ball 23 before he tried to hit one past Anrich Nortje, only for the bowler to take a smart catch in his follow through.
Gous was caught by Birch off his own bowling, for 70 off 110 balls.
Ackermann trapped David Miller (4) LBW and then had Patrick Kruger (12) caught by Christiaan Jonker as they slipped to 168/5.
In his final two overs Smuts bowled Werner Coetsee (7), had Marchant de Lange (2) spectacularly caught by a diving Gqamane, and saw Eddie Leie LBW for a first ball duck as they tumbled to 184/8.
Romano Terblanche (23) and Budaza (15) got them past the 200 mark, before Magala accounted for both in the final over with them all out with just a ball remaining. BCM mayor Xola Pakati and members of his mayoral committee were on hand to soak up a magnificent performance by the Warriors.
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