Qeshile’s career-best T20 score helps Warriors make it six wins out of six

Sinethemba Qeshile made an unbeaten half-century and the bowlers chipped in to help the Warriors clinch a comfortable 24-run victory over the North West Dragons in their CSA T20 Challenge match in Gqeberha on Sunday. 

Part-time off-spinner JP King grabbed two wickets in two overs, finishing with figures of 2/13 from just 12 balls, while Renaldo Meyer and Beyers Swanepoel claimed 2/38 and 2/28 respectively to restrict the visitors to 162 for nine after 20 overs. 

The win was the Warriors’ sixth from as many matches and leaves them on 27 points, while the Dragons have now lost four of the seven matches they have played.

Chasing 187 for victory at St George’s Park, the Dragons lost in-form left-hander Rubin Hermann for 10 from 10 balls to Swanepoel, having hit two boundaries. 

Raynard van Tonder and Meeka-eel Prince took their side to 35/1 after the power play before breaching the team’s half-century in the eighth over. 

The duo fell two runs short of a 50-run partnership for the second wicket when Siya Simetu claimed his 12th wicket of the campaign, trapping Prince in front of his stumps for 25 from 26 deliveries. 

King removed Wihan Lubbe (17) before Van Tonder fell to Meyer, as Hermann completed two catches in consecutive overs with the Dragons slipping to 94 for four. 

King grabbed a second wicket when he trapped skipper Senuran Muthusamy in front as the Dragons limped past 100 with half their side out before Meyer dismissed Duan Jansen (5) for his second wicket of the encounter. 

Needing 72 from the final 24 balls, the Dragons lost Migael Pretorius (4), Bamanye Xenxe (8) and Seleka (0) just after their team total crossed 160. 

Earlier, a career-best T20 score of 51 not out by Qeshile set the tone for the home side as they romped to 186 for five.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Qeshile and Patrick Kruger ensured the Warriors passed 180 runs with a 93-run partnership from 44 balls for the fifth wicket. 

After the loss of opener Jiveshen Pillay, who fell for seven runs off the bowling of Jansen, skipper Matthew Breetzke struck 22 runs from the fourth over bowled by Pretorius as he and Andile Mogakane took the Warriors to 52/1 after the first six overs. 

They lost their next three wickets for the addition of 39 runs as Caleb Seleka removed both men for scores of 37 and nine respectively, while Lubbe got rid of Jordan Hermann (28) to leave the Warriors on 91/4 in the 13th over. 

Qeshile and Kruger (46) kept up the scoring rate with a flurry of boundaries as they brought up their half-century stand of 27 balls. 

The pair added 62 runs in just under four overs at the back end of the innings.

Seleka claimed 2/33 from his four-over ration, while Jansen and Lubbe recorded 1/39 and 1/23 respectively.

HeraldLIVE