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Bloemfontein - Duanne Olivier continued his rich run of form by increasing his match tally to seven wickets as the Knights closed in on victory over the Warriors after three days of their Sunfoil Series clash at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The fast bowler, who made his Proteas debut in the third Test against Sri Lanka earlier this month, first took 6/82 to help bowl the visitors out for 299.
He shared all 10 first innings wickets with Marchant de Lange (4/98), allowing the Central franchise to take a 132-run lead.
After the Knights were then dismissed for 189, they reduced the visitors, chasing a 322 victory target, to 73/3 by stumps – still needing 249 for victory.
But with key men Eddie Moore (23) and Colin Ackermann (16) both back in the hut, the latter dismissed by Olivier (1/27), who extended his leading wicket-taking tally for the season to 35 in what is just his sixth match of the term, the home side looked well place for a win that was likely to put them top of the log.
There were also other substantial contributions through the day, which mainly came from Warriors’ players, although they face an uphill battle to save the game.
They had resumed day three on 244/7 in their second innings, with Sisanda Magala ending as top scorer with 79 (105 balls, 15 fours). Captain Simon Harmer also made 75 (149 balls, 6 fours). Magala then took 2/24 in the home side’s second innings as they were rolled over cheaply in 59.3 overs.
Andrew Birch was the pick of the bowlers with a fine 3/11, while first-innings centurion Rudi Second top scored with 37.
But Olivier, De Lange (1/27) and Mbulelo Budaza (1/18) took a wicket each to give their side control heading into the final day.
