JP King struck a sensational unbeaten half-century to lead the Dafabet Warriors to a comfortable eight-wicket win over the DP World Lions in their CSA T20 Challenge match at the Dafabet St George's Park on Tuesday night.
The victory propels the Warriors to second place on the table. This is their third win in five matches. The Lions remain at the bottom of the log with three losses in as many games.
Matthew de Villiers, the Warriors' captain, won the toss and elected to bowl first.
His bowlers justified his decision by restricting the Lions to 146-7. The hosts, led by King, needed 17.4 overs to reach 151-2 and claim victory.
King struck three fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 56 from 26 balls.
This is his second T20 half-century of the season and the third of his career.
The Warriors batter walked away with the Batter of the Match award, while his brother, CJ King, scooped the Bowler of the Match accolade.
JP King, who arrived at the crease in the 11th over, shared an unbroken 74-run third-wicket partnership with De Villiers that propelled the hosts over the finishing line.
This is their second 50-plus partnership of the season. De Villiers, who holds the green cap for most this season, was undefeated on 49 from 39 when the Warriors claimed victory.
Before his partnership with King, De Villiers shared a 56-run second-wicket partnership with Muhammed Manack (26).
This is the second 50-run stand between the pair in three outings. Manack lost his wicket while trying to clear the fielder at mid-off, unfortunately, he didn't get the height he needed.
JP King came in and continued from where Manack had left off.
SHELL-SHOCKED
Earlier in the day, Mitchell van Buuren did his best to put the visitors on the front foot with a well-played half-century.
Unfortunately, his effort wasn't enough to help the Lions reach a winning total.
The Lions were on 31-3 when he arrived at the crease, and he dragged the Lions out of trouble with a 39-ball 51 (4x4, 1x6) against a disciplined Warriors bowling attack on a tough pitch.
This is Van Buuren's fifth T20 half-century, and he faced 37 balls to reach the milestone.
The right-hander also shared an outstanding 61-run fifth-wicket partnership with Richard Seletswane (17) that helped the Lions reset their radar after a troubled start.
The pair joined forces after the Lions had lost three wickets for six runs in 10 deliveries in the powerplay.
CJ King played a big hand in putting the Lions on the back foot. He took the new ball with Kerwin Mungroo, and ensured that the Lions’ experienced pair of Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen did not cause trouble by dismissing them in consecutive deliveries.
The wickets left the Lions shell-shocked and they struggled to recover from that setback.
CJ King was the Warriors' most successful bowler with two wickets for 21 runs in three overs.
Kerwin Mungroo, Wesley Bedja, Thomas Kaber, and Muhammed Manack finished with a wicket each.
WARRIORS: Modiri Litheko, Muhammed Manack, Matthew de Villiers (capt), JP King, Patrick Kruger, Jean du Plessis (wk), Thomas Kaber, CJ King, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Wesley Bedja, Kerwin Mungroo
LIONS: Neil Timmers, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Mitchell van Buuren (capt), Richard Seletswane, Evan Jones, Wandile Makwetu (wk), Beyers Swanepoel, Mortaza, Siya Plaatjie, Rafeeq Patel
