It was a weekend of heartbreak for the DP World Lions women\u2019s team as they suffered highly unfortunate losses in both their one-day and T20 matches against the Fidelity Titans at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.<\/p>\n
Our Lions could certainly blame the weather for their six-run defeat on the DLS method in the one-day derby fixture. Excellent bowling restricted the Titans to 187 for seven in their 50 overs, saw the Pride well-placed for a successful chase when the umpires took the players off the field due to lightning when the DP World Lions were on 72 for three in the 23rd over.<\/p>\n
Even though there was precious little rain that fell, waiting for the storm to pass and the danger of lightning to abate proved a futile affair and the match was called off.<\/p>\n
Opener Palesa Mapoo had scored 19 runs and had provided a solid platform for the innings, when she fell to a freakish catch at wide mid-on shortly before play was stopped, causing a dramatic swing in the DLS calculations that proved highly beneficial for the Titans.<\/p>\n
Madison Landsman was well-set and looked in fine touch as she had scored 23 not out off 35 balls at the other end.<\/p>\n
The DP World Lions had earlier won the toss and elected to field first, and new-ball bowlers Lehlohonolo Meso and Samantha Schutte, even though neither took a wicket, made life extremely difficult for the Titans top-order with some brilliantly controlled bowling and testing swing.<\/p>\n
The pressure created made it seem just a matter of time before a run out came, and the brilliant fielding of Sunette Viljoen-Louw duly delivered, before left-armer Relebogile Mkhize captured two wickets, including the prized scalp of Proteas star Sune Luus, trapped lbw for 18 by an inswinger.<\/p>\n
While spinner Sarah Nettleton controlled the middle overs with one for 28 in 10 overs, the shrewd Lions leadership turned to Viljoen-Louw and Landsman for the death overs, which proved a masterstroke for the visitors.<\/p>\n
Viljoen-Louw, hitting the slowish pitch hard, took two wickets in an over, and Landsman took one for 20 in four overs as the Titans could only post a moderate total.<\/p>\n
In the T20 match the following day, Proteas star Masabata Klaas will probably want to hire the scriptwriter for the match on a full-time basis as she scored a boundary off the last ball of the match to claim victory, having earlier taken two for 19 with the ball.<\/p>\n
Before that shock ending, it had been a game the DP World Lions had dominated.<\/p>\n
Sent in to bat, superb innings by Viljoen-Louw (62 off 54 balls) and Raisibe Ntozakhe (46 not out off 39 deliveries) lifted the Lions to 132 for five in their 20 overs.<\/p>\n
The DP World Lions attack, led by Nettleton\u2019s excellent two for 24 in four overs, kept chipping away and no batter was able to make it to 40.<\/p>\n
The ice-cool Schutte had seven runs to defend in the final over and she was ruthless in conceding just three singles off her first five deliveries. The Lions, having dropped a catch off the first ball of the over, then suffered the agony of a misfield on the extra cover boundary as victory was snatched from them in the cruellest fashion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"