Viljoen heroics not enough for Dolphins against Boland

A career-best 114 from Hanu Viljoen wasn't enough as the Dafabet Boland batters chased down 175 to claim a final over seven wicket victory over the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Sunday.

The Dolphins found themselves in early trouble after being sent in to bat, with the Boland bowling attack making an immediate impact to reduce the hosts to just 12/3 inside the fourth over.

Glenton Stuurman struck first when Romashan Pillay was caught for two, before Lizaad Williams took two wickets in the fourth over to remove Bryce Parsons for six and Jason Smith for a duck.

With the Dolphins in desperate need of a recovery, Viljoen and Ntando Zuma combined to produce a remarkable fourth-wicket partnership that completely transformed the innings.

The pair showed tremendous composure under pressure, rebuilding the innings before gradually increasing the scoring rate as the innings progressed.

Viljoen brought up his half-century from just 34 deliveries and continued to find the boundary regularly, reaching his century from 53 balls to put the Dolphins firmly back in the contest.

Zuma played an important supporting role, rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard moving as the partnership passed 100 in the 16th over.

Their stand eventually yielded 162 runs, setting a new YesPlay T20 Cup record for the fourth wicket, before Viljoen was run out off the final delivery of the innings for a magnificent 114 from 59 balls, while Zuma finished unbeaten on 42 from 41 deliveries as the hosts posted 174/4 from their 20 overs.

Williams was the pick of the Boland bowlers with 3/12, while Stuurman finished with 1/17.

In reply, Boland made an emphatic start to their run chase, with openers Blayde Capell and Gavin Kaplan immediately putting the Dolphins under pressure.

The pair attacked from the outset, reaching 50 inside the sixth over before continuing to punish the Dolphins' bowling attack.

Their century partnership arrived in the 12th over, with both batters bringing up their half-centuries in the same over. Capell reached his milestone from 30 deliveries, while Kaplan got there from 39 balls.

The Dolphins desperately needed a breakthrough and Prenelan Subrayen eventually provided it in the 14th over when Kaplan was caught at long-on by Bryce Parsons for 55 from 44 balls.

However, the dismissal did little to slow Boland's momentum as Capell continued his assault, bringing up 150 for the visitors in the 18th over.

Keshav Maharaj eventually ended Capell's innings when he was caught at long-on for 90 from just 53 deliveries, leaving Boland needing 15 runs from the final two overs.

The Dolphins briefly threatened to make things interesting when Okuhle Cele produced a brilliant catch on the fine-leg boundary to dismiss Neil Brand for four in the 19th over.

With Boland on 164/3, the visitors required 11 runs from the final eight deliveries.

However, any hopes of a dramatic Dolphins comeback were quickly extinguished as Boland finished the contest in stong fashion.

Cele conceded a six and a four from the first two deliveries of the final over before another boundary sealed the victory, with Boland reaching 175/3 with three balls remaining.

The Dolphins face the YesPlay Western Province Cobras at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday with the match starting at 6pm.

Tickets are available at www.ticketpros.co.za.