Cobras win thrilling Semis after Jayasuriya falters in Super Over

The Nashua Cape Cobras beat the Nashua Dolphins on the Super Over after both teams scored 148 in their allotted 20 overs in their Standard Bank Pro20 semifinal third leg at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Wednesday.

With the match tied it meant that each team would face six balls and they could make use of three batsmen.

The Dolphins chose Sanath Jayasuriya and Johann Louw to open the batting during their extra over which was bowled by Charl Langeveldt. Langeveldt bowled Jayasuriya with his first ball and then conceded two runs and a wide before having the new man, Daryn Smit, caught at deep square-leg by JP Duminy.

It meant that the Cobras needed four runs to win from one over which was bowled by Alfonso Thomas. Graeme Smith was run-out, after the first ball of the over, by Jayasuriya after he backed-up too far.

Herschelle Gibbs then took two runs off the second ball of the over before hitting a boundary through the covers to secure victory for the Cobras.

The Dolphins had scored 148 for eight after beginning their last over, bowled by Vernon Philander, needing 17 runs to win which came down to the home-side needing six to tie off the last ball which Johann Louw duly delivered by smiting a mighty blow over long-on to end the Dolphins innings not out on 48 off 26 balls with four fours and two sixes.

The Dolphins’ run chase began poorly as they slumped to 11 for three inside four overs with fast bowlers Langeveldt and Rory Kleinveldt sharing the wickets to fall.

A fourth-wicket partnership between Hashim Amla (37) and Jon Kent (30) of 65 off 48 balls then revived the home fans' hopes.

However, in the 13th over, both men lost their wickets in consecutive balls from left-arm spinner Claude Henderson with Amla being caught at deep mid-wicket by Duminy while Kent was stumped. Henderson ended with figures of three for 23.

Louw and Smit then put on 39 runs off four overs for the seventh wicket to leave the Dolphins needing 23 runs off the last two overs of their innings.

Up stepped Langeveldt once again as he bowled Smit and Quinton Friend to claim four for 22 off four overs.

Earlier, a fifty from Duminy helped the Cobras to 148 for four.

After the Cobras had won the toss and elected to bat they slipped to five for one in their second over before Duminy played the anchor-role for his team to perfection as he ended not out on 53 off 46 balls with three fours and two sixes.

Duminy combined with Justin Ontong to put on 73 runs for the third wicket before Ontong was bowled by seamer Thomas for 44 off 32 balls.

Ontong began his knock slowly, with one run coming off the first six balls that he faced, but he was soon into his stride striking two fours and three sixes as he scored his next 43 runs off 26 balls.

Graeme Smith and Duminy had provided a good platform for the Cobras as they put on 50 runs off 44 balls for the second wicket before leg-spinner Daryn Smit bowled Smith. The Cobras’ skipper departed for 34 off 31 balls.

Thomas was the best Dolphins bowler on the night, finishing with figures of two for 14 off three overs.

Cobras wary of Sanath | Semifinals - Standard Bank Pro20 Series

Both the Dolphins and the Cobras have been starved of a championship success in recent seasons and they’ll be desperate to change that course of events by starting off with a win in tonight’s Pro20 semifinal third leg in Durban.

The “hit and giggle” version of the game has lived up to its reputation as a lottery and the most recent results in Port Elizabeth and Durban have clearly underlined that notion.

The two semifinal legs of the Dolphins and Cobras match-ups have been won by decisive margins and perhaps the hugely unpredictable nature of Pro20 cricket could result in a far more evenly contested third leg as teams make one last push for a final berth and its massive financial offerings, given the advent of the Twenty20 Champions League, which gets under way in India, in September.

The must-win nature of the game is such that the Cobras will be backing themselves to beat the Dolphins as they have emerged victorious in very tight games this season.

Cobras coach Shukri Conrad feels his team thrives in the “pressure situations” and he’s confident there are any number of players in his ranks who can play a match-winning role.

If indeed the result is going to hinge on the role of one match-winning performance, most pundits would rather be looking at the Dolphins’ opening batsman, Sanath Jayasuriya.

He is arguably the world’s most combustible batsmen, even at the ripe old age of 39 years.

The Sri Lankan legend, who has broken more one-day batting records than any other cricketer, revolutionised one-day international cricket with his explosive batting at the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

He failed to score in the second leg in Durban and he’s too good to fail again and if he does produce a decisive knock today, he’ll be repaying the Dolphins his R1-million Pro20 appearance fee with a single innings.

Jayasuriya gave Pro20 fans a taste of his explosive batting when he posted 41 runs off 24 balls, including six boundaries, three of which cleared the ropes at Newlands, last Friday.

That contribution, as well as his two wickets courtesy of his left-arm spin, wasn’t seen in its full context because his team-mate, Yusuf Abdullah (3/13) ripped out the heart of the Cobras batting, even before their chase got under way. He claimed his first two wickets before the Cobras had even managed to score one run on home turf.

Even in defeat the Cobras drew one consolation from their Friday the 13th defeat and it was their most lethal batter, Herschelle Gibbs, would not fail again.

And how right they, the Cobras, were. The “Hurricane Herschelle” innings clubbed the Dolphins attack for 92 runs off 57 balls.

There must be a similar feeling in the Dolphins camp ahead of today’s clash since Jayasuriya failed with both bat and ball (nought and 0/29 off 3 overs) in the last outing.

Jayasuriya would no doubt have noted that the most telling all-rounder Pro20 contribution yet this season was recorded in Port Elizabeth on Monday night where the Warriors’ Robin Peterson returned 49 not out and 3/24 with bat and ball respectively.

Defying Sanath, Amla gets it wrong

Ahmed Amla must have been questioning his wisdom to bowl first as the Nashua Dolphins were crushed by a resurgent Cobras in the second leg of the Standard Bank Pro20 semi-final at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Sunday.

The three-leg tie now stands at one apiece and the deciding game in the semifinal will be staged at the same venue on Wednesday, at 6pm.

On Sunday the Cobras batsmen were in sublime form as they savaged the Dolphins attack while scoring 191-4 and then had the home side on the ropes and waiting to be counted out on 59-5 when the rain came down.

The Duckworth-Lewis method was called on and it declared Cobras deserved winners by 38 runs.

After winning the first leg at Sahara Park Newlands on Friday any captain would have learned that the Cobras do not take too well to pressure.

In that game the Dolphins pummelled their attack while scoring 162-5 off 20 overs and came away with a 14-run win after dismissing their opposition for 148.

Instead of continuing in the same vein and giving Sanath Jayasuriya and HD Ackermen - the destroyers in chief in Cape Town - the opportunity to lay into the Cobras attack, Amla decided to field after winning the toss.

The advantage of using the wicket first disappeared and the initiative was gone. Dolphins hearts sank further as Yusuf Abdulla dropped a "dolly" from Graeme Smith on the ropes.

Heads dropped and the body language told the whole story.

The bowling went to pieces as the carnage began with Smith and Herschelle Gibbs butchering the so-called strongest attack in the competition. Smith, who has returned to the game after a five-week lay-off, scored 33 (20b 6x4s) in his 66-run opening stand off 42 balls with Gibbs, who was a class act.

The Proteas player, who has had a troubled life on and off the field in the past year, went on to compile 92 with seven 4s and four towering sixes off 57 deliveries.

Though there was some joy after Smith and Duminy (0) departed in quick succession, Gibbs blasted away as he delivered more telling blows to the home side with Justin Ontong (32 off 26, 3x4s 1x6). The Gibbs-Ontong third wicket stand yielded 74 runs.

After that Vernon Philander also helped himself to 21 off 11 balls before the innings ended on 191-4.

Even before the 8 500 crowd had finished their dinner, the Dolphins batting began crumbling.

Jayasuriya, who had to play the big shots, went for a duck, playing a reckless shot off his first ball, Ackerman went for 16, Grant Rowley (1), Jon Kent (10) and before they knew it they were 59-5 and at a point of no return. In that 59-5 Hashim Amla made a classy 23 off 18 balls.

The rain came at a time when the Dolphins were way behind and, according to the Duckworth-Lewis method, they were 38 runs behind and thus well beaten.

Now they have a day in between to pick themselves off the canvas and go into the deciding leg on Wednesday.

But if they want to win and book a passage to India for the IPL Champions League, it will be crucial for Amla to make the right decisions.

Sanath Jayasuriya 3 back to back sixes and two consecutive wickets [ VIDEO ] | South African Standard Bank Pro20 Series 2009

Above is a video of Sanath Jayasuriya hitting Rory Kleinveld for three sixes in a row, then following it up with two wickets off the first two balls that he bowled for the Nashua Dolphins in the Standard Bank Pro20 series.

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Thanks to Hilal - http://www.islandcricket.lk

Graeme Smith knows Dolphin danger Sanath Jayasuriya

If there is one player in the Cape Cobras team who knows the danger Dolphins opener Sanath Jayasuriya poses in Friday night's Pro20 first-leg semi-final at Newlands, then it's captain Graeme Smith.

Smith has spent years devising strategies on how to dismiss the Sri Lankan master blaster, but has also had first-hand experience of the carnage Jayasuriya can cause when he is in the mood.

The veteran left-hander was certainly in the mood four years ago at Taunton when he and Smith shared a 197-run first-wicket partnership for English county side Somerset against the then all-conquering Australians. Jayasuriya struck 101 off 79 balls and Smith 108 off 74 balls and the Aussies were humbled by four wickets.

"Geez, that was an amazing game," said Smith. "The Aussies got over 340 and we both got hundreds. Sanath obviously doesn't talk much between overs, so he was just standing on the one side and me on the other, and we were just flaying away.

"It was great to be able to just watch and enjoy and not having to worry about trying to get him out. He played some amazing shots that day. There's no doubt Sanath is a match-winner. If he gets off to a flyer, he just takes the pressure off all the remaining batsmen. He is also a more than useful bowler."

Jayasuriya only joined the Dolphins camp on Thursday, having represented Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 international against India as late as Wednesday. Smith, who had the entire week to familiarise himself with the Cobras' set-up, believes Jayasuriya's late arrival might just play into the Cobras' hands.

TEAMS FOR NEWLANDS:

Cobras: Graeme Smith (capt), Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy, Henry Davids, Justin Ontong, Richard Levi, Andrew Puttick (w/k), Roger Telemachus, Rory Kleinveldt, Claude Henderson, Charl Langeveldt.

Dolphins (from): Sanath Jayasuriya, Hashim Amla, HD Ackerman, Grant Rowley, Ahmed Amla (capt), Jon Kent, Pierre de Bruyn, Daryn Smit (w/k), Johann Louw, Alfonso Thomas, Quinton Friend, Yusuf Abdulla, Imraan Khan.

Dolphins keen to have Jayasuriya back

There were smiles for different reasons at the end of the Nashua Dolphins-Highveld Lions Standard Bank Pro20 Series game at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Sunday.

The first was obvious - the Dolphins had easily beaten the Lions by eight wickets and secured home semi-final advantage in the two-leg affair, while the second was for the fact that the local team had avoided being the No. 1 side on the final round robin league table.

That was the second reason for the huge smiles on the faces of the KwaZulu-Natal cricket officials.

"This means that we will play on Friday and not Wednesday. That suits us as Sanath Jayasuriya will be available for the first leg of the semi-final on Friday against the Nashua Cape Cobras," said Jay Naidoo.

"If we had finished on top of the table we would have missed the opportunity of having Sanath for the two-leg semis. He will arrive here on Wednesday morning and it would have been difficult pressing him into action soon after landing from a long flight from Sri Lanka."

The Dolphins will play the Nashua Cape Cobras on Friday at Sahara Park Newlands and their second leg game is scheduled for Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Sunda, at 2.30pm.