A comfortable 66-run bonus point win for the Titans catapulted them above the Dolphins into first on the log yesterday night when the home team in Durban broke all the wrong kind of records.
The low target of 137 set by the Titans on a damp Kingsmead field looked to be the perfect start for the home side, but a collection of peculiar shots saw them reeling at 19-4 after five overs, ending on a record low 70 all out with over four overs to spare.
To the Titans credit, their bowling was tight and accurate, but it was more the Dolphins’ rash shot making that got them into trouble early on. Proteas Albie Morkel and Chris Morris accounted for the top four with two wickets each as Morne van Wyk cut at a wide one, sending it to point before Khaya Zondo (0), Vaughn van Jaarsveld (6) and Cody Chetty (2) all went to top-edged strikes.
Not even the middle order big guns of Dwayne Bravo and David Miller could rescue the Dolphins, however, Bravo was the top scorer with a very measured 27 runs.
The Dolphins own batting capitulation was made even stranger by the events of the Titans innings. Sitting comfortably at 101-3, the Dolphins bowlers tumbled the batting line up of the visitors to see them at 136-9 thanks to Andile Phehlukwayo and Ryan McLaren who picked up three wickets each.
Proteas keep Quinton de Kock was probably the danger man of the Titans innings, but when he departed with 38 off 31 ball thanks to Keshav Maharaj, the Dolphins should have been backing their batsman to chase down the meager total.
However, although the Titans bowling attack is their strength, it was probably safe to say that the Dolphins’ batsmen did themselves a disservice with the shots that got them out.
Next up for Lance Klusener and his men is a trip to East London to take on the Warriors on Friday, it will probably be a game that they would like to target, but it cannot be seen as a soft target - away from home to the ever improving Warriors team.