Frylinck’s fireworks narrowly not enough in Jo’burg

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins fell agonisingly short of their target of 176 set by the bizhub Highveld Lions in their CSA T20 Challenge clash at Bidvest Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday, losing by six runs in the end.

Coming into the clash on the back of a strong victory over the VKB Knights in Bloemfontein on Friday, the men from KwaZulu-Natal hoped to end their four-match road trip on a high, however, despite a remarkable display of power-hitting by burly all-rounder Robbie Frylinck at the death, it wasn’t to be.

The encounter saw the hosts win the toss and bat first and an inconsistent effort both with the ball and in the field by the Dolphins aided the Lions in amassing 137/3 in 15 overs.

Despite a string off respectable overs from the Dolphin’s bowlers at the death, Mangaliso Mosehle’s 45 off 25 balls and Rassie van der Dussen’s 41 off 32 balls paved the way for the City of Gold’s outfit to amass a towering 175/5 by the innings’ conclusion.

A good start was key to the Dolphins’ hopes of chasing successfully however the early loss of both openers, Cameron Delport (1) and Morné van Wyk (17) meant the men from Durban were on the back foot from the get-go.

Dolphins number three, Cody Chetty was forced to take his time up front as he looked to give his side a platform from which they could launch later on and the right-hander went on to craft an handy innings of 35 off 28 balls including four boundaries.

Chetty’s demise added to the regular loss of wickets from the other end though and meant the Dolphins remained in catch-up mode for the rest of the afternoon.

While Frylinck’s arrival at the crease represented the Dolphins final flicker of hope, the 32 year-old all-rounder was up for the challenge as he blasted his way to a remarkable 49 off just 20 balls (5×4, 3×6).

The removal of Frylinck, who went on to be named as the match’s Let Loose Batsman, by Matt McGillivray in the final over left tail-enders Rabian Engelbrecht and Mthokozisi Shezi with the near impossible task of scoring twelve runs off just two balls and all but ended the visitors’ chase.

After a frenetic period on the road, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins find themselves in third place on the log on eleven points and they now return to Durban for a clash against the table-topping Multiply Titans at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead on Wednesday, 30 November.

With the completion of the Test series between South Africa and Australia in Australia, the Dolphins will be eager to regain the services of left-arm orthodox Keshav Maharaj once more while former England international Kevin Pietersen will also return for the men from the east coast for Wednesday’s encounter.