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The Knights resumed on 277/5 on Sunday in their quest to chase down a massive 412 runs for victory.
It is a testimony to their strength of character and their self-belief that they came tantalizingly close, as they were dismissed for 390 runs.
A double-strike by Mbhalati sealed it for the Titans.
He had Dillon du Preez caught at first slip for 13 by Jacques Rudolph and removed Victor Mpitsang three balls later for a duck to send the hosts packing.
Mbhalati finished with 5/125 in 31.1 overs and boasted match-figures of 10/160.
The superb seam bowler has taken 25 wickets in four matches this season at an average of 18.24, with four five-fors. Perhaps the national selectors need to take note of his excellence.
The Titans collected 18.66 points for their trouble, while the Knights added four points to their tally.
Morné van Wyk, on 47, and Ryan McLaren, on 23, resumed on 277/5 on Sunday, with another 135 runs needed for victory.
The Titans struck in the first hour when Mbhalati trapped McLaren in front for 29 with the score on 299/6.
McLaren faced 109 deliveries and struck five boundaries.
The partnership between McLaren and Van Wyk yielded 94 runs off 191 balls in 127 minutes, and these two brave hearts resurrected the innings for the Knights.
Obus Pienaar came to the crease and immediately took the attack to the bowlers with a couple of fiercely struck drives. He dominated the partnership with Van Wyk, hitting 48 off 58 balls with eight fours.
Van Wyk, playing second fiddle and reduced to the role of admiring spectator, perished when he failed to spot a quicker flipper from the occasional leg-spinner Faf du Plessis in the first over bowled by Du Plessis.
The captain was removed for 67. He faced 118 balls and hit eleven fours, as the Knights slipped to 347/7.
It became 357/8 when Pienaar chased a wide one from the left-arm swing bowler Clayton August and was caught behind by Kuhn.
Du Preez and Thandi Tshabalala kept on attacking, playing some lusty strokes.
Du Preez perished when he threw the proverbial kitchen sink at a delivery from Mbhalati and was caught at first slip by Rudolph for 13 as the score changed to 381/9.
He faced sixteen balls and hit two fours.
Mbhalati send his team mates into delirium when he had Mpitsang caught behind by Kuhn for a duck, as the Knights were dismissed for 390 runs.
Tshabalala tried in vain to keep the strike and to attack whenever he can, and scored a quick-fire 21 off 29 balls, with three fours.
CJ de Villiers captured 1/65 in 24 overs, while August finished with 1/60 from fourteen overs.
Teams:Chevrolet Knights: Morné van Wyk (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Adrian McLaren, Rilee Rossouw, Boeta Dippenaar, Ryan Bailey, Ryan McLaren, Obus Pienaar, Dillon du Preez, Thandi Tshabalala, Victor Mpitsang.
Nashua Titans: Jacques Rudolph (captain), Pieter Malan, Blake Snijman, Farhaan Behardien, Henry Davids, Heino Kuhn, Faf du Plessis, CJ de Villiers, Mario Olivier, Clayton August, Ethy Mbhalati.
