Titans and Warriors stand tall

Titans 249 for 4 (de Villiers 102, Bodi 72) beat Western Province Boland 226 for 7 (Duminy 78, Mbhalati 3-44, Kemp 4-47) by 23 runs
Scorecard

At SuperSport Park in Centurion five maiden overs in a row at the top of the innings nearly cost the Titans dearly as Western Province Boland fought back strongly, only to fall short by 23 runs.

Three maidens from Alan Dawson and two from Charl Willoughby from the third to the seventh overs, during which the Titans lost the wicket of Alviro Petersen, was neutralised by some devastating final-overs hitting from Gerald Dros and Albie Morkel. Together the two put on 41 in 18 balls to allow the Titans to end on 249 for 4 after the 45 overs.

AB de Villiers (102) and Goolam Bodi (72) put on 164 for the second wicket as de Villiers went to his maiden limited-overs hundred. The partnership laid the foundation for the innings but very little acceleration through the middle part of it probably cost the Titans 20 to 30 runs. Dros, however, once again proved what a powerful hitter he is at the death of an innings. Two fours and three sixes allowed him to race to 31 off 13 balls while Morkel collected 16 off 10.

Except for Dawson, most of the Western Province Boland bowlers came under attack. Dawson went for 16 runs in his last over, but still only gave away 40 in nine. Willoughby, more interested in a continuous verbal battle with Bodi, ended with 1 for 54 despite the two early maidens.

A brisk start from Western Province Boland - the 50 came up in eight overs - was halted when Henry Davids was bowled for 15 and Andrew Puttick, fell to the leg-side trap off a short ball for 18. Both wickets were taken by Ethy Mbhalati, who struck for the third time when he knocked back Ashwell Prince's off stump for 4. Justin Kemp made short work of Neil Johnston, trapping him in front for 4, and when Paul Harris bowled Gerhard Strydom for 35 Western Province were in deep trouble at 90 for 5. JP Duminy (78) and Con de Lange (47) started a recovery that brought Western Province Boland right back into the game. Their 118-run partnership ended when Justin Kemp got rid of them both and then cleaned up the tail to end with 4 for 47.

Warriors 196 for 6 (Kreusch 65, Kruger 3-40) beat Lions 194 for 7 (McKenzie 62, Ackerman 55) by 4 wickets
Scorecard

At Buffalo Park in East London the Warriors moved closer to a home semi-final spot as their bowlers restricted the Lions to a mediocre 194 for 7 and then managed to score the winning runs in the final over.

The Lions won the toss and chose to bat, but their innings never got off the ground. Despite a 62 from Neil McKenzie and a 55 from HD Ackerman the innings didn't gained any momentum. By the time McKenzie joined Ackerman at the crease the Lions were already in trouble at 44 for 3 in the 12th over. A partnership of 72 followed, but the lack of acceleration meant that the innings petered to a close at 194 for 7 with Enoch Nkwe, the next highest, not out on 21.

The Warriors then lost two early wickets, which gave the Lions a slender chance of defending 194. Justin Kreusch (65) stayed calm as further wickets fell with the target seemingly getting tougher. At 154 for 6, 41 runs were still required off 39 balls, but Pieter Strydom (22 not out) and Tyron Henderson saw the Warriors through with four balls to spare.