Linde and Cobras have some fun
CAPE COBRAS 181/5 (Hamza 57, Linde 48*, Jonker 33; Nortje 2/30) WARRIORS 158 (Jansen 48; Linde 4/25, Manack 2/23) Cobras won by 24 runs
“IT was whole lot of fun.” This was George Linde’s reaction after blasting 48 off just 20 balls to power the Cobras to 181/5 – the highest total in the CSA T20 Challenge thus far.
It bettered their 167/5 of the previous day which was overtaken in dramatic fashion by the Knights.
But Linde wasn’t going to allow lightning to strike twice. The Proteas all-rounder followed up his blitzkrieg innings, which included 26 runs off one over from Aya Gqamane, with a fine bowling performance.
The tall left-arm spinner claimed 4/25 to restrict the Warriors to 158, earning the Cobras a long-awaited victory in this T20 Challenge.
Linde certainly is making a bold claim to be a regular in the Proteas T20 line-up, particularly with the ICC T20 World Cup scheduled for India later this year.
While he may face stiff opposition from other spinners such as Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, Linde is pushing hard to be selected purely on his batting prowess alone.
There are few batsmen in the country who have displayed the ability to clear the ropes with such power – and more importantly, consistency – as the Cobras southpaw.
The Proteas have long sought someone to take the attack to the bowlers post the powerplay overs and at the death.
After a tortured season until the past two days, Zubayr Hamza finally found some form and struck his second consecutive half-century to help lay the platform for Linde's pyrotechnics show.
Hamza hit 57 off 45 balls (6x4) and with Kyle Verreynne (26 off 18 balls), the pair ensured the early loss of captain Tony de Zorzi for a firstball duck to Anrich Nortje (2/30) did not stall the momentum.
Although it is a consolation in the context of the overall competition, the 24-run victory was a relief for the Cobras after their heart-breaking defeat on Monday.
In yesterday’s later match, Sisanda Magala bowled the Highveld Lions to yet another convincing victory.
The Lions remain the only unbeaten team in the competition after Magala ripped through the Knights with figures of 5/20 to dismiss Allan Donald’s team for a paltry 106.
The central franchise could not build on their thrilling last-ball victory over the Cobras on Monday and faltered badly with the bat.
It was only former Proteas middle-order batsman Farhaan Behardien (28) and Ferisco Adams (23) who managed to bring any form of respectability to the Knights’ total.