Cobras’ uphill battle

THEREIS still plenty of time left in the final Supersport Series matches of the season, but the Titans yesterday took a significant step towards dethroning current champions, the Cape Cobras, with a powerhouse batting performance against the Dolphins at Centurion.

The Titans started their match 0.68 of a point behind log-leaders the Cobras. By the end of yesterday’s play the Pretoria-based side had leapt to the top of the standings by racing to 473-9 declared in only 87.1 overs – a massive haul of 7.46 batting points.

Against this, the Cobras, with the start of their clash against the Lions in Johanesburg delayed for two hours by rain, opted to field first and by the end of day one had managed only a single bowling point as they toiled to leave the opposition on 228-4.

The Cobras and the Titans are the only teams realistically in the fight for the four-day title, and although rain may still play a role in both the games on the Highveld, the centuries by Faf du Plessis (157) and Heino Kuhn (128) have helped put them in the better position.

The Titans had early success with the ball, too, reducing the bottom-of-the-log Dolphins to 5-2 yesterday.

Even with a bit of time possibly lost due to the elements, the Titans are odds-on for a win and a haul of more than 21 points. That means the Cobras would have to almost equal that – a tough ask.

Latest: Bad light stopped play midway through the first session today. At Centurion the Dolphins were on 40-6 (11.4 overs) and at the Wanderers the Lions were on 270-5 (87.4 overs).