Sybrand Engelbrecht was the unlikely hero for Cape Cobras as his side snatched a one-run win in the Super Over against Barbados Tridents in the Oppo Champions League Twenty20 on Friday. With this win, the South African squad kept itself alive in the race for a semifinal spot from group B.
Needing four to win off the final delivery, Jonathan Carter — a centurion earlier in the day — failed to connect well with a full toss down the leg side and could only run two.
In fairness, Cobras should not have let the contest be decided in the Super Over.
Chasing 175, the South African side had got off to a rollicking start thanks to Richard Levi creaming 26 runs off Jason Holder in the third over of the innings. Despite losing Levi, the Cobras remained in relative control of the match and only needed 50 off the last six overs.
Hashim Amla was responsible for the Cobras’ position of advantage. Amla, like Carter earlier in the day, did ride his luck. He was dropped twice and when he was caught on 52, it turned out to be a no-ball. But those nervy moments were compensated by some elegant cover drives and cuts that kept the required run-rate in check.
His dismissal, though, checked the momentum of the Cobras and 13 were needed off the final over. Engelbrecht came to the South Africans’ rescue as he ensured the match went into the Super Over.
Earlier, Carter’s hundred took the Tridents to 174 after a poor start. Carter was occasionally reckless but fortune chose to side with him. He was dropped on 26 and also had a few other close shaves. Perhaps, such situations were inevitable since Carter almost seemed adamant to charge down the pitch to short deliveries and flay them.
The 26-year-old, whose previous best in this format was 61, struggled to rotate the strike initially. Carter’s half-century arrived off 40 deliveries but 19 of those were dots. Remarkably, the southpaw didn’t score off only two balls thereafter as he learnt to make better use of the favourable conditions on offer.
Brief Scores:
Barbados Tridents: 174/8 in 20 overs (Jonathan Carter 111 no, Dilshan Munaweera 42)
Cape Cobras: 174/5 in 20 overs (Hashim Amla 59, Richard Levi 39, Jeevan Mendis 4/27).
Super Over: Cape Cobras 11/0 in 1 over. Barbados Tridents 10/1 in 1 over. Cape Cobrs won via Super Over.
