Third time really is the charm for the Nashua Cape Cobras as they were finally crowned the winners of the RamSlam T20 competition on Friday night after beating the Chevrolet Knights at Newlands cricket ground in Cape Town by a comprehensive 33 runs.
The home team won the toss and decided to bat first, but found the going tough after losing their first wicket in the first over, with Richard Levi being run-out for just one run. However, it was a calculated and smart innings by Omphile Ramela (who scored a career best 54 off 34 runs), who was later joined by the explosive Kieron Pollard at the back of the innings, who found the boundary six times in his stint at the crease, scoring 43 runs off just 23 balls, which allowed the Cobras to post a daunting total of 158 in their allotted overs.
While the batting was impressive and allowed the Cobras to set a decent total to defend, it was the bowling and fielding that followed that solidified the title for the Cobras at the end of the day. Dane Paterson picked up 4 for 33 while Kieron Pollard picked up 3 for 21 in the final overs of the Knights’ innings. Although Protea pace man Dale Steyn was unable to pick up any wickets, he conceded just eleven runs in his four overs. Cobra’s captain Justin Ontong scored himself five catches in the innings, including the valuable wicket of danger-man Rilee Rossouw as a caught and bowled.
The Knights simply imploded following the wickets of their openers. After thirteen overs, they were in the ideal situation of 90-2, giving them a healthy platform to accelerate from to secure the win. However, in the four overs that followed they went on to lose six wickets for just seventeen runs, with only two of their batsmen making more than fifteen.
The Cobras were the rightful victors. They finished top of the log at the end of the round-robin stages and after winning nine of their eleven matches they played in total (one loss and one no result), they were the team in the best form who utilised each of their players to the best of their abilities. Not only did their overseas player (Pollard) justify every cent that was spent on him, the young side under the leadership of the experienced Ontong were able to play as a cohesive unit, showing off their skills and talents while the national players were away.
It is difficult to believe that there is a silver lining for the Knights after the trainwreck we witnessed on Friday, but luckily for them, there is. Both teams have gone on to qualify for the Champions Trophy next year, a title the Cobras definitely have their eye on to add to the trophy cabinet.
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