Unlimited Titans prevailed thanks to magnificent Mosehle...
Monday 14 December 2015 13:38, UK
The Unlimited Titans defeated Sunfoil Dolphins by seven wickets at Centurion to win the Ram Slam, South Africa’s domestic T20 competition.
But the tournament, which boasted the hard-hitting skills of Kevin Pietersen and Quinton de Kock among others, was full of highlights.
Here are the best of them…
Pietersen blasts successive centuries
It didn't take KP long to blast off in the Ram Slam. Following a score of 22 on debut for Dolphins, the ex-England man went into overdrive with an unbeaten 115 from 66 balls against bizhub Highveld Lions, an innings that featured a whopping 10 sixes. Pietersen backed that up with another ton - and a further seven maximums - two days later versus VKB Knights before successive fifties ended his initial five-game stint with the Durban team. The 35-year-old returned later in the tournament but could not inspire his team to the trophy...
Mosehle magic lands Titans title
That was because Titans batsman Mangaliso Mosehle played an absolute blinder in the showpiece game to power his side to victory. The 25-year-old biffed 87 from just 39 balls, an innings that included six fours and seven sixes, as Albie Morkel's side chased down Dolphins' 159-5 - in which Dwayne Bravo cracked a 30-ball 53 after Pietersen had fallen for 10 - with 19-balls to spare. Mosehle, who received a rich round of applause after finally being pouched caught and bowled by Kyle Abbott - is yet to receive international recognition for South Africa but with a performance like that and a T20 World Cup around the corner, that could soon change.
Parnell denied a swashbuckling hundred
Will Wayne Parnell be in South Africa's squad for the World T20 in the spring? He did himself no harm in the Ram Slam with a glittering 99 against Lions - although the Cape Cobras player will be gutted at missing out on a hundred, a feat only Pietersen (twice) and Knights' Theunis de Bruyn achieved. Parnell moved one run shy of a ton with successive sixes off Aaron Phangiso but perished looking for a third. Still, Parnell did enough to secure his side a win and carried on his form with a score of 74 next time out for the Cobras, who missed out on a spot in the final following a five-run defeat to Dolphins in their semi.
Russell claims stunning catch
Knights finished bottom of the pile in the Ram Slam, but you certainly can't blame Andre Russell for that. The West Indies star fired with bat and ball - hitting two quick-fire fifties and taking 14 wickets - but he also impressed in the field, most notably when he plucked a magnificent one-handed catch to dismiss South Africa international de Kock. Check out the too-cool-for-school celebration! Russell's team-mate, Ryan McLaren, also took a one-handed beauty in the Ram Slam to pick up the wicket of Rassie van der Dussen caught and bowled.
Fan catches
It wasn't just the players plucking stonking catches out of the air, though. There were a number of one-handed belters in the crowd, including the one in the video above after Warriors skipper Colin Ingram creamed a six over deep square. Reeza Hendricks also gave the seal of approval to a fan after he caught his maximum above his head, while on another occasion, a lunge over the barricade led to a super grab. There was even a cracking take off one of Mosehle's sixes in the final by a bloke in a Liverpool shirt. Each one-handed catch earned the taker a share of 1million rand. Not too shabby, eh?
