Johannesburg – Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Khaya Zondo shared a record-breaking fifth-wicket partnership to lead the Dolphins to a comfortable victory over the Titans in the opening game of Sunday's Domestic T20 triple-header at Newlands in Cape Town.
Van Jaarsveld and Zondo came together with the Dolphins struggling on 37 for four in the eighth over and put on an unbroken stand of 117 – the highest fifth-wicket partnership in South African domestic Twenty20 competition.
That carried the Dolphins to a total of 154 for four as Van Jaarsveld smashed seven sixes in his unbeaten 82 and Zondo finished on 41 not out, before the Titans managed 146 for seven to lose by eight runs.
Although the final scoreline suggested a tight game, the Titans' chase never really took off, thanks largely to a solid bowling display from Kyle Abbott, who took two wickets for a single run in his opening two overs.
An in-form Faf du Plessis did his best to resurrect the innings before he fell to Craig Alexander for 24, and David Wiese tried to bring the game back to life with a hard-hitting 42 from 24 balls down the order.
The Pretoria side, however, were still 28 runs behind heading into the final over.
Wiese was run out attempting a second run off the first ball of the over, and Abbott finished with figures of two for 21 as the Dolphins picked up the first points of the competition. – Sapa