The opening day of the second round of Sunfoil Series action saw the Hollywoodbets Dolphins battle hard as they chased wickets against the VKB Knights at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Thursday.
The defending champions, the VKB Knights, won the toss and chose to bat first. However, it was the visiting Dolphins who struck early smiles when Kerwin Mungroo took the wicket of Grant Mokoena for a duck in just the second over.
From that point, the hosts dominated the morning session. Luthando Mnyanda made a solid contribution with 74 runs, complementing the aggressive innings of Theunis de Bruyn.
The duo forged an impressive 198-run partnership for the second wicket in 41.3 overs before Mnyanda was dismissed by captain Keshav Maharaj.
De Bruyn’s attacking display put the Dolphins’ bowlers under immense pressure as he threatened a double century, scoring 190 runs off 225 balls before being adjudged LBW to Senuran Muthusamy.
The Knights were sitting at 314 for 3 wickets by the 77th over.
In the final session of day one, the Dolphins fought back with determination, claiming wickets of Pite van Biljoen (40) and Diego Rosier (10).
Patrick Kruger sparked a late explosion, smashing 26 runs off just six deliveries in two overs as the Knights reached 397 for 5 wickets.
Kruger was eventually dismissed by Muthusamy for 35, but Shadley van Schalkwyk and Rudi Second guided the Knights to a closing score of 400 for 6 at stumps.
Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy each took two wickets, while Mungroo and Frylinck chipped in with one wicket apiece.
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For more info, visit the official Dolphins Cricket website.
