The ITEC Knights have good momentum going into their very important Division 2 CSA T20 Challenge game against the Limpopo Impalas in Bloemfontein on Sunday. The Knights are well on their way to promotion back up to Division 1, but it requires a good T20 campaign.
On Saturday, the Knights got their campaign off to a flying start with a four-wicket win against the Garden Route Badgers in Bloemfontein. The Badgers batted first and scored 166/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
In reply, the Knights chased down the target in 17.3 overs with the Protea Jacques Snyman blasting 87 runs off 49 balls in an innings that included 6 fours and 5 sixes. Importantly, they backed that performance up with a 31-run win against the Eastern Cape Iinyathi at Buffalo Park in East London on Tuesday.
The Knights were asked to bat first and they scored 229/4 in their 20 overs with Garnett Tarr scoring 72, Dian Forrester scoring 57 not out, while the captain, Aubrey Swanepoel, scored 49.
In reply, the Iinyathi put some pressure on the Knights during the middle overs, but the Free State managed to restrict the team from the Wild Coast to 198/5.
The Knights moved to the top of the table with 8 points, which is the same as the Impalas. However, the Knights have a superior net run rate of 1.4600, while the team from Polokwane’s is 0.500.
The Impalas have proven to be a tricky customer to deal with following a 7-run win against the Iinyathi and a 13-run victory against the Northern Cape Heat.
Sunday’s match at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein gets under way at 13:00. – MORGAN PIEK
