We’ve reached the business end of the Ram Slam T20 tournament now and on Wednesday the Dolphins will host the defending champions Cape Cobras in Durban in the semi-final of the event to determine who will travel to Centurion on Saturday to take on the Titans in the final.
The Dolphins secured their place in this playoff match when they beat the Cobras here in Durban on Friday afternoon. That meant the Cobras had an uneasy Sunday afternoon waiting to see if the Warriors would win their final match which would eliminate the Cobras from the competition. The Warriors lost so the champions live to fight another day.
The big news in terms of personnel for the Dolphins going into this match is that Kevin Pietersen has returned for the playoffs. Not one to miss the glory Pietersen will hope he can lead the side to victory like he did in their first four matches this season. Dwayne Bravo is also in a strong looking Dolphins squad.
The Cobras have been without some key men throughout the tournament because of South Africa’s series in India and nothing has really changed in that regard. Although those players have returned from India it hasn’t been declared that they can play in this match. One man who definitely won’t feature is Justin Kemp. He has gone down with pneumonia and misses out.
These two sides have met twice in the tournament so far with each winning their home match so it could be significant that the Dolphins have home advantage here. Their batting has taken on a whole new meaning of the word powerful and let’s not forget the likes of Morne van Wyk, Cameron Delport and David Miller are perfectly capable of taking any attack apart.
I worry a little for the Cobras here. Kemp isn’t just a solid batsman and a canny bowler but he is a real experienced head who delivers when the pressure is really on and in a semi-final that would have been a lovely commodity to have.
You just feel with Pietersen’s return and that win on Friday the Dolphins have the positive energy going into this match right now. The Cobras are beginning to look a little unbalanced so there is just about enough in the 4/5 price on the home side progressing here.
Back Dolphins to beat Cape Cobras for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Coral
