By OBAKENG MELETSE
Eddie Moore’s hundred powered Western Province to a 48-run bonus-point victory over the KZN Tuskers in the CSA T20 Challenge at Newlands on Wednesday.
Province temporarily moved to second on the log, with the Lions in action later on Wednesday against the Warriors in Johannesburg.
Moore’s unforgettable summer continued as he smashed his way to his maiden T20 century.
Following his debut Test match against New Zealand in February, the left-handed batter adds yet another milestone to what has been a memorable season.
The Tuskers, who produced a great bowling performance when they beat the Lions by eight wickets on Saturday, offered a lot of boundary balls on Wednesday and couldn’t contain Moore as he swiftly made his way to a T20 career-best score of 101 off just 58 balls, which included 11 fours and four sixes.
Moore played on to a Tian Koekemoer delivery, ending a day he will remember for a long time.
Province narrowly missed out on victory as they tied a rain-affected match against the Titans on Saturday, with only one over to go. It’s a match they had control over and should have won.
They seemed like a side that learnt from their past encounter, and showed their hand early in a batting performance full of intent.
The new opening pair of Tony de Zorzi and Moore set the perfect platform, maintaining a quick scoring rate by reaching 40-0 after four overs.
De Zorzi was caught by Ntando Zuma off the bowling of Michael Erlank for 14.
The left-handed Test opener, high in confidence after he was named as one of the CSA contracted players – with teammate David Bedingham missing out – was not as fluent as he would have liked on a good batting pitch.
Wayne Parnell (46) walked in at the unfamiliar No 3 position and was immediately busy, hitting his first ball for a boundary. His 29-ball innings included two fours and four sixes to ensure that the runs were flowing from both ends.
🔄Change Of Innings
— CSA Domestic Leagues (@DomesticCSA) March 27, 2024
🟠![CDATA[]]>🔵 Eddie Moore ripped through the Tuskers to reach 💯 and help WP get to a total of 2️⃣0️⃣8️⃣/6️⃣
🐘 Tuskers will need 209 runs to win #WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #CSAT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/kHE8ZPgBLv
Parnell and Moore combined for a 113-run partnership and helped Province set the Tuskers an imposing target of 209 to win.
WP captain Kyle Verreynne (20 off 11 balls) had a late cameo and ensured the hosts went over the 200-run mark comfortably, ending on 208-6.
The Tuskers had a decent start, getting to 50-1 after 5.5 overs, but they couldn’t keep up with the required rate as wickets kept falling.
Kagiso Rapulana (60 off 46 balls) kept the Tuskers in the game, but he didn’t have enough support at the other end.
Attempting to reduce the rate required, which was well over 15 runs an over, Rapulana was out caught by Juan James off the bowling of Kyle Simmonds to end his fighting innings.
Keith Dudgeon (35 off 17 balls) might have earned a promotion up the order as he produced the second-highest score for the Tuskers to make up for the poor bowling performance.
SA Under-19 captain James was the pick of the WP bowlers with figures of 2-12 on his T20 Challenge debut, and he was duly supported by Simmonds (2-28).
🟠![CDATA[]]>🔵WP TAKE THE VICTORY
— CSA Domestic Leagues (@DomesticCSA) March 27, 2024
Eddie Moore's century sealed the deal for the WSB Western Province over the Tuskers 🏏#WozaNawe #BePartOfIt #CSAT20Challenge pic.twitter.com/IKMFopBIkq