Venue: St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Pitch Report: It is a pitch where the quick bowlers might not get too much of help but there is something in it for the spinners.
Captain, David Jacobs does it again for the Warriors as his breezy half century helps Warriors beat the Victoria Bushrangers.
Chasing a total of 159 in their first outing, the Bushrangers fell short of the total by 28 runs and lost their first outing in this year's Champions' League.
Needing to score 8 runs an over, the Bushrangers staggered at the start as they lost both their openers, Quiney and Hodge, within the powerplay. Finch, who came in at number three, was looking good until he also perished in the 9th over when captain David Jacobs took a splendid catch at extra cover. The Bushrangers were struggling at 59-3 off 9 overs.
David Hussey and McDonald put on a slow but an important partnership of 35 off the next 5 overs before Kreusch cleaned up the big man David Hussey with a neat yorker. Bushrangers struggling at 94-4 off 14 overs needing 65 off the next 6 overs.
Theron struck twice in the next over and Bushrangers were further pushed into their miseries as both McDonald and Wade were dismissed. The total now was looking out of reach as the Bushrangers struggled at 96-6 off 15 overs needing 63 runs off the remaining 5.
Tsotsobe struck in the very next over and cleaned up Maxwell, leaving the Bushrangers at 100-7, needing 59 runs off 24 balls. Wickets continued to tumble as McKay and Hastings fell in the next two overs.
Nannes and Harwood stood ground till the end of 20th over and Bushrangers were 28 runs short off the Warriors' total, who were surely deserving winners.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat, the Warriors were straightaway into the groove as captain David Jacobs belted the quick bowlers all around the park and was scoring at a healthy 9 runs an over. Ashwell Prince on the other end of the wicket, gave him a good stand.
At 81-0 in the 9th over, the Bushrangers got a lucky break as a mix-up between the batsmen led to the runout of the in-form Jacobs. From then on the Bushrangers began to pull things back as they got the wicket of Ashwell Prince in the very next over.
Mark Boucher and Johan Botha put on an important partnership of 40 runs of just 4.4 overs and took the team's total to 158.
Turning Point : The Bushrangers did not have the start they would have wanted as they chased 158, but the wicket of David Hussey was the turning point as on his day, the big man can turn games on its head.
The Hero: Inspite of an important knock from the captain David Jacobs, it was the bowling department of the Warriors that made the bigger impact, each of who were amongst the wickets. Special mention for Juan Theron, who continues his dream run, this time taking 3 for 22 in his quota of 4 overs.
The Warriors are truly now a force to reckon and they will be pumped up and eager to get onto the field again as soon as they can. As for the Bushrangers, they will be looking to rectify their batting woes and come out stronger in their next outing.
Man Of The Match: David Jacobs, for his breezy half century that set the tone of the Warriors' innings.
Scorecard: Warriors 158 for 6 (Jacobs 59, Boucher 31, McDonald 2-22, Nannes 1-25, McKay 1-27) beat Victoria 130 for 9 (Hussey 29, Theron 3-22, Ntini 2-33) by 28 runs
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