Knights cruise past Titans

Benoni - The Knights secured their first win of the season in the domestic 1 Day Cup as they effortlessly reached their 158-run target against the Titans in Benoni on Sunday for a determined nine-wicket victory.

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Morne van Wyk and Reeza Hendricks stacked up 135 runs for the first wicket as both players ripped into the Titans' bowling attack.

Van Wyk smashed an unbeaten 76 off 86 balls, and Hendricks's 73 came off 83 deliveries before he was caught by AB de Villiers off the bowling of Roelof van der Merwe.

The wicket, however, was not enough to impede the Knights' march to victory as they reached 161/1 with nearly 20 overs to spare.

Sent in to bat first, the Titans struggled to score freely, with their wickets falling at frequent intervals as they were bowled out for 157 runs.

The Knights attack struck as early as the first over as opener Henry Davids was caught at slip by Hendricks off the bowling of Johan van der Wath from the second ball of the match.

Heino Kuhn played the anchor role early in the Titans' innings, contributing 44 runs off 54 balls as his team-mates tumbled around him.

To make matters worse for the hosts, De Villiers made a controversial return to the crease when he was dismissed for obstructing the field.

Playing his first game in six weeks after recovering from a broken hand, the Proteas' limited overs skipper made 12 runs.

After taking a run, De Villiers held his line, and Ryan McLaren missed with his attempt at the wickets.

Following some enthusiastic appeals by the Knights' players, umpire Lubalalo Gcuma ruled that De Villiers was in the wrong, and sent him back to the change rooms.

Tail-ender Rowan Richards was also dismissed for obstructing the field later in their innings.

Captain Martin van Jaarsveld put up a valiant fight in an effort to salvage the innings with his knock of 41 runs off 44 balls.

But after Van Jaarsveld was dismissed the Titans' innings came to a crashing end.

The visitors bowled with tight discipline, with Van der Wath taking 2/18 and McLaren returning 2/30.