Cape Town - Robbie Frylinck took a hat-trick for the Dolphins but it was not enough as they fell to a narrow one-run defeat to the determined Warriors at St George's Park Cricket Ground in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
The medium-pacer finished with the outstanding figures of three for 23 in his four overs as the hosts were restricted to a 153 for eight, before the visitors replied with 152 for seven in the second match of a double-header at the Eastern Cape venue.
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It was a disappointing end for Frylinck, in particular, who recorded only the third hat-trick in the competition's history.
The Warriors, needing a win to stay alive in the competition, had won the toss and opted to bat first.
But after hitting some early trouble thanks to Mthokozesi Shezi's three for 24, Christiaan Jonker put them on course for a sizable total thanks to his 59 (36 balls, 3 fours, 5 sixes).
However, the middle-order batsman was the first of Frylinck's three victims as Sisanda Magala (0) and Andrew Birch (0) followed in the 19th over, preventing the home side from a big finish.
Birch then struck two key blows with the ball in the third over - taking out Sarel Erwee (8) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (0) - to leave the away side on 15 for two.
Two more quick wickets saw them slump further to 35 for four in the seventh over, before Morne van Wyk (57 off 44 balls, 4 fours) gave them hope via a fifth-wicket partnership with Sibonelo Makhanya (33) that yielded 60.
But
once the latter fell, the pressure became too much for the Dolphins as
they fell to a defeat that left them with a real scrap to reach the
semi-finals.