Nelson Mandela Bay Giants made it back-to-back victories as they edged the Tshwane Spartans by seven runs in their rain-hit Mzansi Super League cricket encounter in Centurion on Sunday.
A wicket apiece by Junior Dala, Sisanda Magala and Carmi le Roux in the opening 5.1 overs proved key as the Giants sneaked home on the Duckworth/Lewis Method.
It was the team’s third victory of the competition in four matches and their second consecutive win after wiping the floor with Durban Heat by nine wickets at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth on Friday night.
The result left the Giants second on the table behind the Cape Town Blitz.
The Giants play Cape Town Blitz at St George’s Park on Tuesday (7pm).
Chasing a modest 144 for victory in Centurion, the hosts blew their chances by losing Gihahn Cloete (7), Tony de Zorzi (9) and, critically, AB de Villiers (1) with what turned out to be the final ball of the match, to reach 35 for three when lightning stopped play.
They needed to be on 42 at that stage to get something out of the game, but instead found themselves short as they fell to a third loss in four games.
Mark Boucher’s charges will be kicking themselves, though, after they had done most things right until that final passage of the game.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, they restricted their Port Elizabeth opposition to 143 for nine after Warriors fast bowler Lutho Sipamla and Jeevan Mendis shared seven wickets between them at SuperSport Park.
After a 40-run opening stand between top-scorer and man-of-the-match Marco Marais, who clubbed 47 off 41 balls (5 fours, one six), and captain Jon-Jon Smuts (19), the visitors were pegged back regularly thanks to the two home bowlers.
Sipamla stepped up admirably in the wake of the blow to his side this week, when star bowler Lungi Ngidi was ruled out of the competition through injury, by grabbing three for 29, including two wickets in two balls.
Sri Lankan leg-break bowler Mendis was even better, nabbing four for 22 with his spin.
Apart from Marais, Rudi Second (26) was the only other batsman to reach the 20s.
It left the home side a fairly gettable target to chase, but their poor start as well as the rain meant they blew it.
Meanwhile, captain Faf du Plessis struck a key half-century on his Mzansi Super League debut to help the Paarl Rocks inflict a first defeat of the campaign on runaway leaders Cape Town Blitz at Eurolux Boland Park on Sunday.
The Standard Bank Proteas skipper planted six fours in an innings of 54 off 39 balls as the hosts chased down a 141-victory target, winning by five wickets and with seven deliveries to spare.