Potchefstroom (South Africa): Defending champions Hollywoodbets Dolphins and the Imperial Lions were crowned joint winners of Momentum One-Day Cup after their final showdown was rained out after 55.2 overs here on Friday.
The match had been moved to the reserve day after Thursday’s scheduled clash was forced to be abandoned without a ball being bowled following wet weather at Senwes Park, which was hosting the competition in a bio-secure environment.
The heavy rain had at least cleared sufficiently to get a 45-over per side game going with the Lions batting first after they lost the toss and were restricted to 225 for seven wickets.
In reply, defending champions Dolphins reached 37 for two wickets in 10.2 overs, before the skies opened up again and forced the players off one final time in what has been a tournament severely affected by the elements.
In the end, it was the rain that was the ultimate winner as the Dolphins, winners of the title last year when the competition prematurely ended by the coronavirus pandemic, and Lions sharing the first trophy on offer in the season.
In the game itself, the KwaZulu-Natal side was led admirably with the ball by Ethan Bosch as his four for 41 in nine overs strangled the Lions to a modest 226 target.
Dominic Hendricks (65 off 74 balls, 3x4s) and Nicky van den Bergh (56 off 75 balls, 1×4) were the two mainstays with the bat for Wandile Gwavu’s side — their 116-run fourth-wicket partnership proving pivotal after they slipped to 56 for three. But the lower order then offered little leaving Imraan Khan’s charges favourites at halfway.
A strong start by the Lions, and in particular Sisanda Magala (2/17), ensured that the Johannesburg-based side was not going to go down without a fight before rain intervened to draw the curtain on the game and the competition in the North West.
