By OBAKENG MELETSE
The Warriors will be looking to keep their momentum going as they aim for a ninth straight victory and a double over the Titans in tonight’s CSA T20 Challenge clash at St George’s Park in Gqeberha (6pm start).
The Warriors beat the Titans by two runs in their first leg at SuperSport Park in Centurion, and with the tournament already past the halfway mark, the defending champions find themselves in an unfamiliar sixth position.
The Titans have missed out on maximum points in their last two fixtures due to rain, and will be hoping it will be a case of third time lucky when they attempt to break the Warriors’ eight-match winning streak and get back in touch with the top four sides.
The Warriors, currently on 35 points with eight matches played, have led the way from the first week of the tournament and have had sides take jabs at them.
But in true heavyweight style, they have knocked out every opponent, irrespective of where the fixture was, and as things stand, they are likely to have a home semi-final.
Captain Matthew Breetzke has shown glimpses of a return to form, and is currently on 216 runs, with two half-centuries.
He came into the competition on the back of a Proteas T20 series against India, in which he opened the batting.
The Warriors have six games left, and with the semi-final and final also on the cards, Breetzke will still be hopeful of grabbig the national selectors’ attention ahead of the World Cup squad announcement.
When your team is top of the standings🕺#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt#DafabetWarriors #TheWarriorWay pic.twitter.com/WedI04kBtI
Elsewhere tonight, the Lions will welcome the Dolphins at the Wanderers (6pm).
Fresh off their dominant 132-run win over an inconsistent Western Province side at Newlands on Wednesday, the Lions will be out to make it three on the bounce.
The victory against WP moved the Joburg side to second on the log, five points clear of third-placed Province, and seven off the fourth-placed Dolphins, who still have a game in hand and will want to win to keep in touch with the top four, because any slip-up could see another team coming into play-off contention.
The Dolphins won the KZN derby against the Tuskers on Monday by 19 runs. The Tuskers were the last side to visit the Bullring and come away with maximum points, and the Dolphins will be looking to replicate that and break the Lions’ two-match winning run.
LOG STANDINGS 📉
After 8️⃣ rounds of thrilling #CSAT20Challenge action, this is how things stand 🏏
Are you happy with your teams position? 💭#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/r0wXDHm8fG
In the battle of the bottom two, Boland Rocks will host the KZN Tuskers in Paarl tonight (6pm).
The Tuskers head into the encounter with a three-point advantage, and will be confident after they came close to beating the Dolphins in Potchefstroom on Monday, before a late collapse that saw them lose by 19 runs.
Kagiso Rapulana (43) top-scored for the Tuskers, with Mbulelo Budaza also having a decent outing, picking up 3-27. The Tuskers will need that pair to pull the match together once again when they visit the Rocks.
The Boland outfit are rooted to the bottom of the log, and have looked troubled from the start of the tournament.
They have enough experience to finish the season strongly.