Johannesburg - The HollywoodBets Dolphins will want someone else in their batting group to provide assistance to Grant Roelofson, if the Durban side is to annex the CSA T20 Challenge title in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
In a strange coincidence, the two teams that opened the competition on October 17, will close it, with the Dolphins hoping that they can turn the result in their favour this time against the Multiply Titans.
Three weeks ago, Dewald Brevis’s half-century and a three-wicket haul for left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso proved sufficient for the Titans to claim a 34-run victory.
Then, as was the case for the majority of the tournament, Roelofson was the best performer with the bat for the Dolphins, top scoring for them with 68. The 26-year-old opener added two other half-centuries and is the leading run-scorer in the competition with an aggregate of 333 runs, eight ahead of Brevis, who garnered so much attention in the past week.
Brevis hasn’t had to be as consistent for the Titans, who have shown they have greater depth in their batting. Besides the precocious teenager, five other Titans batters have aggregates of more than 100 runs, including Brevis’s opening partner, Jiveshan Pillay. For the Dolphins, just three batters, besides Roelofson, have made more than 100 runs.
Khaya Zondo, Jon-Jon Smuts and Jason Smith are an experienced middle order and in a final they need to produce something substantial in order for the Dolphins not to be overwhelmed.
“Our batting line-up is a quality one and I don’t think we’ve quite hit our straps as a collective but we are confident in our batting and if you want to win finals you have to be at your best,” said Dolphins assistant coach Quinton Friend.
The Titans have a well-balanced line-up, with depth and variety in both batting and bowling, while they have also been the best fielding side in the competition.
The Dolphins have bowled well throughout and will again lean on their three seamers, Daryn Dupavillon, Ottniel Baartman and Ethan Bosch to make life harder for the Titans. They will hope that skipper Prenalen Subrayen has recovered from the hamstring injury he picked up in the semi-final, because his off-spin is a crucial part of their strategy in the field.
“The bowling attack has really stood up in this competition as they have done over the last three years in this format,” Friend said.
“The one thing that we are doing well as a bowling unit is keeping things simple and we’ve put a big emphasis on death bowling.”
Saturday’s final starts at 2.30pm.
IOL Sport