The Eastern Cape Iinyathi missed out on a straight passage to the final as they lost by three runs to the Knights via the DLS Method against the Knights in the CSA Knockout Challenge Qualifier 1 at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
Had they won the rain-affected fixture, the East London team would have proceeded directly to the final with home-ground advantage on Sunday.
But now they have to take the alternate and longer route to a possible final.
They will host Qualifier 2 at Buffalo Park on Friday against the winner of the eliminator, which will be contested by the Garden Route Badgers and the Mpumalanga Rhinos on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Iinyathi scored 140 for seven in their 20 overs, a score below the average total at the ground.
In their chase, the Knights reached 76/2 after 11 overs before the heavens opened with persistent rain at around 3pm.
The DLS par score was 73.
Cole Abrahams, with eight runs, and Gihahn Cloete with 12 made sure they were ahead of the required mark before the rain came.
Opener Gerrit Snyman was the man who did the damage early on.
He and Cloete made sure the Knights were going at 10 runs an over in the first four.
Snyman was eventually caught and bowled by spinner Lihle Sizani as the Knights finished the first power play on 62/1.
But two balls later, Thozama Totana had Ruben du Toit (12) caught at deep mid-wicket by Ruben Ruthven.
The Du Toit wicket meant Totana moved to the top of the wicket-taking charts with 10.
The Iinyathi top order could not kick on, and those in the middle order did not capitalise on their good starts after being put in to bat by the Knights.
Only five batters reached double figures.
This is a statistic that will not impress head coach Tumelo Bodibe, bearing in mind the talk before the game was to capitalise on the “flatness” of the surface.
Coetzer was the only standout with the willow, with 33 runs off 24 balls.
Jason Niemand, the team‘s leading run scorer in the competition, also found it tough to get going. He made 19 off 22 balls.
Wian Ruthven added 25 while Mncedisi Malika (12) and Alindile Mhletywa (11no) also chipped in.
It was Mhletywa and Coetzer’s eight-wicket stand that helped the Iinyathi to their total.
They combined for an unbeaten 35 runs.
The East London team were in trouble from the get-go after Knights bowlers Sisanda Magala and Mbongiseni Mhlanga got among them.
They were 34/3 in the sixth over after Mhlanga accounted for the scalps of Nathan Roux (8) and Christiaan du Toit (8) while Magala dismissed Sizani (9).
Niemand and Ruthven tried to rescue the sinking ship but could only add 22 before Niemand was sent packing by Du Toit.
Ruthven became Mhlanga’s third wicket, while Malika and Michael Copeland (3) fell to Du Toit and Seth Fledermaus respectively.
Mhlanga had figures of 3/20 in his four overs.
Daily Dispatch
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