It seems the sporting world was intent to spoil all parties in Cape Town on Sunday.
After the Blitzboks failed to overcome New Zealand in the World Rugby Sevens that burst the Mother City’s bubble, the Cape Cobras were left firing blanks too.
Having sat comfortably in second place on the RamSlam T20 Challenge log for the last three rounds after winning five out of six matches, the Cobras were humbled by 18 runs by the Warriors in East London.
The defeat at Buffalo Park had an immense impact on the overall log as the Dolphins, who have had five washed out matches, blew away the log-leading Titans in the only match played in Durban all season.
The Dolphins’ 89-run victory earned them the all-important bonus point, which allowed the east coast side to pip the Cobras into second spot.
The Dolphins therefore won the right to host a home semi-final on Thursday.
So, instead of being able to attract another good crowd – over 10 000 people streamed into Newlands last Friday – the Cobras are now forced to travel to Kingsmead instead.
The Cobras, though, only have themselves to blame for letting a match they were bossing until the ninth over of the run-chase slip through their fingers.
At that stage the visitors were handily placed at 83/1, requiring a further 86 runs off 11 overs for victory.
However, that’s when the wheels came off, with the Cobras losing senior batsmen Temba Bavuma (6), Hashim Amla (39) and JP Duminy (14) in quick succession.
The real bitter pill, though, was that Amla and Duminy both lost their wickets to the part-time leg-spin of Colin Ingram, who had earlier struck a crucial 41 that formed part of a match-winning partnership of 80 runs with Jon-Jon Smuts (48 off 30 balls).
Vernon Philander (22 off 20 balls) and debutant Carlos Koyana (20 not out off 24 balls) attempted to rescue the situation for the Cobras, but they were unfortunately left with too much to do.
The Titans will now host the Warriors in the first semi-final on Wednesday at SuperSport Park in Centurion, before the Dolphins and Cobras face off at Kingsmead the following day.
@ZaahierAdams