Cape Cobras captain Andrew Puttick was unsure of his team line-up minutes before the start of the match as the players were rattled after a security scare at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, but that did not stop them from pulling off a convincing eight-wicket win over Victoria Bushrangers in the Champions League Twenty20 here on Saturday
Cape Cobras captain Andrew Puttick was unsure of his team line-up minutes before the start of the match as the players were rattled after a security scare at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, but that did not stop them from pulling off a convincing eight-wicket win over Victoria Bushrangers in the Champions League Twenty20 here on Saturday.
Chasing a target of 126 runs in 17 overs, Cobras coasted home with six balls to spare, Henry Davids scoring 69 off 54 balls. The South African team lost just two wickets in the process. The win took them closer to a semi-final berth.
However, the beginning of the day was anything but ideal for both teams. The match was delayed by an hour and 40 minutes following a security review by police after a "suspicious bag" was found in the stadium.
The Cobras were clearly nervous coming to the ground after the development and Puttick admitted at the toss that he is not sure of the playing eleven. It came out that two of his important players Herschelle Gibbs and Ryan Canning had decided to sit out of the match.
But once Cobras walked in front of the sizeable crowd, they were at ease and focussed at the job at hand.
They got the perfect start when Monde Zondeki removed Rob Quiney off the first ball of the innings. Another wicket tumbled in the third ball-Brad Hodge-and Victoria were two down without opening their account. They could never recover from the bad start.
Aiden Blizzard (22) counterattacked, stroking four fours in 16 balls before fast bowler Rory Kleinveldt ended his cameo.
With vital contributions from David Hussey (19), skipper Cameron White (24) and Andrew McDonald (29 not out), Victoria set up a competitive target.
However, Cobras' opener Derek Brand (29 off 15 balls) clobbered five fours and a six in the first four overs to lay the foundation for the chase.
Davids and Brand added 30 runs for the second wicket before the latter was run out.
Davids, who hit seven fours and two sixes, and Jean Paul Duminy (18) then took Cobras to the target.
