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Titans take control in PE

Port Elizabeth - An unbroken 106-run stand between Roelof van der Merwe and David Wiese gave the Titans control of their Sunfoil Series match against the Warriors after the first day at St. George’s Park.

The pair came together with honours even at 231 for five and not only provided stability and saw off the second new ball, but also scored their runs at 3.6 per over to wrestle the initiative away from the hosts.

Van der Merwe went to stumps on 83 having extended his lead at the top of the competition’s run-scoring charts, while Wiese was 66 not out as the Titans closed on 337 for five.

The Titans cause was also aided by contributions from Heino Kuhn (41) and Theunis de Bruyn (78) in the top order after they had won the toss and decided to bat, which took them to strong positions of 92 for one and 181 for three.

However, the Warriors bowlers kept chipping away to keep themselves in the match, with Simon Harmer bowling Kuhn and trapping Qaasim Adams lbw, and the seam trio of Andrew Birch, Basheeru-Deen Walters and Sisanda Magala all claiming a scalp.

That was until Van der Merwe and Wiese came together, and both went to their half-centuries in good time - the former reached the landmark in 68 balls, while the latter took 84.

With regular boundaries being hit the shine was quickly taken off the new ball, but its hardness allowed the Titans to score 47 runs in the final 10 overs of the day and set themselves up for a commanding first-innings total.

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