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Cape Town - Herschelle Gibbs steered the Cape Cobras to a six-wicket win with an undefeated ton in the MTN40 match against the Dolphins at Newlands on Friday evening.
The Cobras replied with a match winning 248/8 after the Dolphins scored 243/4 in their innings.
Gibbs's 102 not out was compiled from 78 balls and included seven fours and five sixes. Together with Justin Ontong (31 off 28 balls) he saw the Cobras home with 26 balls to spare in an unbeaten 108-run stand for the fifth wicket.
After the early loss of Henry Davids (three), Robin Peterson (51 off 35) and Andrew Puttick (23 off 37) repaired the early damage for the Cobras with a stand of 63 runs for the second wicket.
Stiaan van Zyl (25 off 31) also weighed in with a useful knock before Man of the Match Gibbs and Ontong took control of the match.
Earlier, the Dolphins innings was anchored by a fine 112-run partnership between openers Imraan Khan (72 off 76 deliveries) and Hylton Ackerman (39 off 64). Seamer Sybrandt Engelbrecht made the breakthrough in the 22nd over when he claimed Khan's wicket.
Paceman Francois Plaatjies struck twice in the 27th over when he snared the wickets of Loots Bosman (22 off 20) and Ackerman in the space of four balls to reduce the Dolphins to 145/3.
Dolphins middle-order batsman Dave Miller (55 not out off 40 balls) came to light with a sparkling knock in the second half of the innings and, thanks mainly to his efforts, the visitors were able to push the run-rate fractionally beyond the six-an-over mark by the close of their innings.
Miller shared a 94-run fourth wicket partnership with Ahmed Amla (37 off 40) before Plaatjies ended their aggressive stand.
The Dolphins host the Diamond Eagles at Kingsmead on Sunday, while the Cobras will have a long break from the 40-over format competition until December 23, when they host the Highveld Lions at Newlands.
