Cape Town - Albie Morkel and Dean Elgar showed nerves
of steel as their centuries pulled the Titans out of a deep hole and
allowed them to wrestle the Momentum One Day Cup from the Cape Cobras in
an intriguing final at Newlands.
The Cobras appeared to have the match
wrapped up after scoring 285/8 - the joint second-highest total for the
ground in domestic List A cricket - and then reducing the Titans to 60/4
in reply.
But Morkel and Elgar combined in a 195-run
partnership - a record fifth-wicket stand both for the Titans and the ground -
that put the visitors within sight of victory.
Although Elgar fell for his second 100 (119
balls, 3x4s, 3x6s) in as many innings, Morkel responded with another volley of
boundaries that saw the Titans home with 17 balls to spare.
Morkel’s unbeaten 134 (103 balls, 8x4s,
7x6s) was his first List A hundred, adding to the 15 fifties he has scored in
193 games in the format. He was particularly powerful when hitting over the
offside off the back foot, and his strike rate ensured that the asking rate
never rose above 7.2 to the over.
The Cobras had shared or won the last three
one-day trophies, and will reflect on their inability to cash in on the
excellent platform built by Richard Levi and Andrew Puttick.
The pair put on 180 for the first wicket in
31.3 overs after the Cobras had won the toss and elected to bat - a record for
both the Cobras and the ground - but the innings disintegrated after Levi was
trapped lbw for 104 (113 balls, 11x4s, 1x6) by Tabraiz Shamsi.
Three batsmen were run out, including
Puttick for 69, and Dane Vilas (40 from 25 balls) was the only batsman able to
inject some momentum back into the innings as the hosts added just 104 runs in
the last 112 deliveries for the loss of eight wickets.
The Cobras still would have expected to
have enough runs on the board, particularly after Rory Kleinveldt removed Henry
Davids with the first ball of the innings and also picked up Jacques Rudolph in
a threatening opening spell, but Elgar and Morkel had other ideas.