Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Dolphins assistant coach Imraan Khan is not prepared to look too far ahead in their quest to reach the One-Day Cup semi-finals as they prepare to welcome the Titans to Durban on Friday.
The KwaZulu-Natal franchise were the early pace-setters in the competition after winning the first three games, but they have since faded slightly to joint third ahead of the visit of the log-leaders.
They are third and have 16 points from six matches heading into the key encounter, with their opponents presently summiting the table with 23 points from seven games.
With plenty of other teams hovering around the same area, a win is an imperative and Khan has highlighted the importance of staying focussed on the job at hand.
"The focus for us is game-by-game and trying to finish as high up the table as we can," he said.
"That has to be the focus and I don’t think there’s any merit in looking too far ahead to be honest.
"You’ve got to keep your eye on the ball and we’re playing against a very good Titans team on Friday. They obviously have all the momentum because of the good cricket they’ve played in the last few games.
"It’s going to be a tough game, but I know we’re up for the challenge."
The Dolphins lost their last match against the Cape Cobras in Pietermaritzburg last weekend, a result that came on account of a poor bowling display after they failed to defend 218 in 28 overs.
"I think there were some positive aspects in our play, but the softness of our bowling is something that we need to address," he added.
"We’ve worked very hard on that and on our fielding, it’s something that there’s lot of emphasis on improving…it didn’t come off in the last game unfortunately. But you can only be as good in the field as your bowlers are allowing you to."
The Titans, meanwhile, are presently flying. They have won four in a row, including a smashing 10-wicket win against old foes the Cape Cobras in Centurion on Wednesday.
They rolled over the Cape side for a paltry 151 in the game thanks to four-fors from Junior Dala and Chris Morris, with debutant Diego Rosier then smashing an unbeaten 92 off 62 balls to lead them to a one-sided win.
"You have to give credit to our bowlers," Rosier said.
"They put in a phenomenal effort, they hit their lengths, stuck to their lengths and today was our day.
"Lucky for us we came out on top. We produced a dominating performance and that’s what counts. We’re really grateful for what’s happened for us in that last game."
