DURBAN – If the Dolphins hold their nerve, as they have done for much of the Momentum One-Day Cup, they will book a home final this week.
But the men from Durban will be met by a charging Titans side on Sunday after the men from Pretoria pummelled the Lions into submission on Friday night in the most one-sided of Jukskei derbies.
The Titans plundered 415 for just three wickets at The Wanderers as the Lions attack was again taken to the cleaners.
The Dolphins had helped themselves to a 300-plus total in Potchefstroom on Wednesday, but an Aiden Markram-inspired effort saw the Titans go even bigger.
Markram hammered 183 off 138 balls, with five sixes and 18 fours in what was a new List A domestic record in South Africa.
He profited most handsomely from a drop catch from Mangaliso Mosehle right at the start of his innings, and made the former Titan pay handsomely for his error.
Henry Davids, happy to play the more sedate hand at the other end, worked his way back to form with a classy knock of 128 from 108 deliveries as the opening duo put on 222 in just 33.3 overs.
It was blistering stuff, and none of the Lions were spared.
Farhaan Behardien (62 off 31 balls) came in to rub salt into gaping wounds, with Heino Kuhn also chipping in with a breezy 34.
In reply, the Lions were 4/2 by the second over, and they never even got close.
Mosehle tried in vain to atone for his error with an angry 74 from 44 balls, but he was a one-man play. All around him the carnage was occurring, and the Lions were eventually trounced by 169 runs.
Tellingly, they were bowled out for 246 in 33.5 overs, their entire team facing two balls more than the Titans opening pair had managed on their own.
It has been a rough season for the defending champions, and they are licking significant wounds.
What an innings by Aiden Markram. The highest individual score in domestic one-day cricket history #MODC pic.twitter.com/dpWHEKggaO
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) March 17, 2017
The Dolphins will wake to those startling numbers, and know that they will have a proper scrap on Sunday.
They will find a Titans team that has Behardien, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi in tow, and it ought to be a cracking contest.
The Dolphins have their own danger men with the bat, with Vaughn van Jaarsveld in frightful form.
The middle-order has stood up when needed, while the likes of Andile Phehlukwayo have already flexed their muscles, and no target is safe if they are still at the crease.
The Dolphins will also know that a win will just about secure the home final that they crave, though they will still host the Knights on Thursday at Kingsmead.
But, given the nature of the tournament, they would rather get the business done at the first time of asking.
Warriors opener JJ Smuts slammed 132 against the Knights. Photo: Chris Ricco, BackpagePix
Meanwhile in Port Elizabeth, the Warriors held their catches to sneak a six-run victory over a gallant Knights outfit.
JJ Smuts’ 132 had laid the platform for the home side, but Pite van Biljon (84) had given the visitors hope of chasing down 285, despite a terrible start that saw them plummet to 48/4.
Aubrey Swanepoel then struck a brave 76 not out to take it down to the wire. Andrew Birch (3/45) produced a nerveless final over to seal a win that keeps the men from Port Elizabeth second on the table.
They maintain an interest in the playoffs, along with the Titans, and the focus now switches to Sunday’s matches, which include that tasty contest between the Dolphins and the Titans in Durban, while the Cobras host the Knights at Newlands.