Cape Town - Half centuries from Daryn Smit and Imraan Khan were not enough to stop the Dolphins slipping to 259-9 in their first innings before bad light forced an early close on the third day of their Sunfoil Series match against the Highveld Lions at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.
Opener Khan struck 64 (129 balls, 8 fours) and Smit weighed in with 88
(171 balls, 10 fours).
Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin was the pick of the bowlers as he ended the day with figures of 4/67.
Despite the best efforts of Khan and Smit, the Dolphins still ended the day trailing the Lions by 257 runs on the first innings and are in real danger of failing to avoid the follow-on.
Thirty-nine overs were lost on the day with bad light forcing the teams from
the field shortly after the tea break.
The start of play was delayed for just over an hour because of a damp outfield and a light drizzle.
When play did finally start, Khan and Smit combined for a 67-run fourth-wicket stand before Khan was dismissed by seamer Dwaine Pretorius to leave the hosts on 126/4.
Morne van Wyk (0) and Andile Phehlukwayo (15) were the next men to depart, before Keshav Maharaj injected some life into the home team’s innings as he bashed his way to 44 off just 26 balls (7 fours, 1 six).
His departure saw the Dolphins wobble a touch as they lost three wickets for just 18 runs with Fortuin striking twice in two balls to remove Smit and Rabian Engelbrecht (0).
Pretorius ended the day with 3-33.