Titans triumph over Western Province to set up T20 Challenge final against Lions

The Titans beat Western Province by 19 runs on Friday to set up a date with the Lions in the final of the T20 Challenge on Sunday.

Both sides are the most successful franchises in this competition, and the Titans will not only get a chance to replace the Lions as the champions but also stretch their title wins to eight against the five of the defending champions.

On a Friday evening, SuperSport Park was looking at its fine best, with a surface that looked good for batting. A decent crowd was in attendance, and they were entertained to some fine stroke play from the willows of Lhuan-dre Pretorius (24) and Rivaldo Moonsamy (29).

The opening pair have done their fair share of damage within the powerplays, and most of it has been individually rather than as a partnership. Inserted to bat first, the home-side was full on attack, keeping the Province bowlers on their toes, with the fans in the stands getting free catching practice as they flew to 45 in just under five overs.

Although they lost the toss, the Titans had a golden chance to set the tone without the pressure of chasing the game. They have so far struggled to live up to expectations despite the match winners they have in their line-up.

Oliver Whitehead will have a debut to remember after he pulled off a screamer to see the back of Pretorius. Mihlali Mpongwana (2/28) got rid of the dangerous Moonsamy, but he was also successful in unleashing the threat of Heinrich Klaasen into the middle, but luckily for the visitors, he could only manage to score 13 runs.

Kyle Simmons (0/20) had nothing to show for his four overs, but he was the pick of the Province bowlers at the 10-over mark. Andile Phehlukwayo went on the move from the coast to the highveld and announced his arrival with a destructive cameo of 39 off 16 to help the Titans post an imposing 182/7 after 20 overs.

Province needed to chase down 183 runs to get to the final, but a flurry of wickets throughout their innings disrupted any momentum they tried to build.

The Titans reduced the visitors to 48/5 with only eight overs bowled, and the Cape side were guilty of giving away easy wickets, with two of the five going down as a result of unnecessary run-outs of openers Jonathan Bird and Daniel Smith.

Edward Moore showed why he is the leading run scorer as he held up an end with his hard-fought innings of 48 off 31. Moore combined for a 67 stand with debutant Whitehead handing Province a chance for victory.

Whitehead chipped in with an innings of 40, but after losing too many wickets, the task was just too hard for the visitors as they went down by 19 runs.

Brief Scores

Titans 182/7

Phehlukwayo ( 39 off 16, 4x4, 2x6)

Mihlali Mpongwana 2/29

Western Province 163/6

Edward Moore (48 off 31,6x4,2x6)

Gerald Coetzee 2/14