The Warriors doused the Dragons’ fire and put a halt to their winning streak as they secured a convincing 21-run victory at St Georges Park in Gqeberha on Saturday.
Janneman Malan scored the tournament’s first century, but it was in vain as the North West Dragons suffered their first loss of the T20 Challenge, while the Warriors kept their knockout hopes alive.
The Dragons were handed a new challenge as their unbeaten record hung in the balance at the halfway point. Set a daunting target of 222 to maintain their unbeaten record; they had to score at a rate of eleven runs from the onset to keep up with the required rate.
Malan (111 off 60 balls, 11x4, 5x6) obliged, and with only one way to play, especially chasing such a huge total, he was out of the blocks quickly looking to take advantage of the gaps on offer in the powerplay. The 28-year-old needed just 24 balls to reach his first half-century of the tournament.
The rate climbed with every missed opportunity to score runs, but the visitors also knew with Malan still at the crease, anything was possible, but ultimately the task was too much for the visitors despite a brilliantly executed century with a valiant effort also by Lesiba Ngoepe (41 off 26).
Earlier, SA20 rookie select JP King showed just why the Joburg Super Kings paid the big bucks to secure his services for the third edition of South Africa’s premier T20 competition. The hard-hitting all-rounder with fellow opener Jiveshan Pillay had the Dragons on the ropes with an opening stand of 87.
Pillay (25) had the best seat in the match as King (61 off 33, 6x4, 3x6) smashed his way to a half century that not only laid the perfect platform for the Eastern Cape side but also allowed the big hitters that followed to have the freedom of Gqeberha and St Georges Park as they feasted on the visitors death bowling.
Beyers Swanepoel retired hurt with a suspected concussion after being struck on the head, but not before he played a useful cameo of 22 off 11 balls. The visitors relief was soon turned to misery as Proteas all-rounder Patrick Kruger (34 off 21) joined Sinethemba Qeshile, and the pair of them created carnage for Wihan Lubbe and the Dragons.
Their 78-run partnership ensured the Warriors maintained their healthy run rate that was consistently over ten throughout the match, as they managed to find the boundaries at ease.
Qeshile (53 off 26, 5x4, 2x6) looked more dangerous before he was stopped in his tracks by Migael Pretorius (2-32) for a well-played half-ton that almost had all the shots in the book.
Elsewhere, the Lions grafted hard to win their low-scoring encounter against Boland by six wickets with two balls to spare. Reeza Hendricks (72 off 50, 4x4, 4x6) returned from Proteas duty and top scored with an impressive half century.
Junaid Dawood added three more wickets to what has been an impressive start to the tournament from the 28-year-old, as he now leads the way with 13 wickets from five matches. The Lions have temporarily taken the lead of the table ahead of Sunday’s fixtures.