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Cape Town - A couple of metres proved the difference between heartbreak and glory as Reeza Hendricks’ pull shot landed in the hands of square-leg and the Knights fell agonisingly short of their target in a low-scoring RAM SLAM T20 thriller against The Titans at the Mangaung Oval.
Hendricks had single-handedly kept the Knights in the chase, hitting 63 from 51 balls to take them to within four runs of victory, but then holed out to David Wiese off the penultimate ball of the game.
Shadley van Schalkwyk couldn’t find the boundary from the final delivery, and so the Knights finished on 127 for seven to lose by one run and record their fourth defeat from four games in the competition.
On a pitch with variable bounce as well as sizeable cracks, Albie Morkel showed his adaptability as his unbeaten 46 from 34 balls proved vital in the Titans recovering from 47 for four to post 128 for five.
After the Knights had won the toss and elected to bowl, it didn’t take long to see that runs would be hard to come by in the conditions.
Quinton de Kock was the first to fall when his leading edge was spectacularly pouched by Andre Russell as he ran back at mid-on and took it one-handed, and the Titans were in trouble when Shadley van Schalkwyk dismissed Henry Davids and Mangaliso Mosehle in consecutive overs.
However, Morkel was able to find the boundary from early on in his innings, and injected some momentum in a 54-run stand with Farhaan Behardien (24) that gave the Titans something to bowl at.
Siboto and Van Schalkwyk were the pick of the Knights bowlers, recording combined figures of 4 for 29 in eight overs.
While the Knights managed to keep wickets in hand up front as they only lost Rudi Second in the first nine overs of their chase, their inability to score left them with a mountain to climb when they reached the end of the 11th over on 45 for three.
Russell helped to pull the required rate back down as he blasted three sixes on his way to 20 from eight balls, before he became the first of four Wiese victims.
Although Hendricks kept going at one end, Wiese (4 for 26) chipped away at his partners to keep the pressure on.
The all-rounder was entrusted with the final over, from which the Knights needed nine to win, and duly held his nerve to put the Titans in second place on the table ahead of Sunday’s full round of fixtures.
