Warriors elect to bowl first

Matthew de Villiers, the Dafabet Warriors captain, won the toss and elected to bowl first in their CSA T20 Challenge match against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins at St George's Park on Friday evening.

The winner of this contest will meet Goldrush Boland in the final of this year's edition of the competition. The home team will be looking to complete the double over the Dolphins. The Warriors defeated the visitors by seven wickets in the group stages.

The Dolphins advanced to the penultimate stage of the competition courtesy of a 15-run win over WSB Western Province in the Eliminator. Jason Smith led the way for the KwaZulu-Natal side with a solid 41-ball 58. He was supported by Tshepang Dithole, who added 39 runs from 27 deliveries. Marques Ackerman was the only other batter who reached double figures with 17 from 21 balls.

Eathan Bosch produced his best bowling performance, taking four wickets for 21 runs in four overs. He struck early and crippled Western Province, who struggled to recover and fight their way back into the contest.

The Dolphins reached the Eliminator after winning five of their seven group matches. Their opposition, on the other hand, also won five out of seven but only lost one match, compared to the Dolphins, who lost two.

The Warriors come into the contest led by their in-form captain, Matthew de Villiers. The Warriors skipper is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 394 runs to his name. He is the only batter with more than 300 runs in the tournament.

The hosts come into the match on the back of a five-run loss to Goldrush Boland, who have already qualified for the final. The Warriors will be hoping to rediscover their previous form and defeat the Dolphins to punch their ticket to the final.

WARRIORS: Muhammed Manack, Jordan Hermann, Matthew de Villiers (capt), JP King, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Patrick Kruger, Thomas Kaber, CJ King, Aphiwe Mnyanda, Wesley Bedja, Kerwin Mungroo.

DOLPHINS: Bryce Parsons, Khaya Zondo, Jason Smith, Marques Ackerman (capt), Tshepang Dithole, Gomolemo Phiri (wk), Eathan Bosch, Andile Simelane, Tristan Luus, Aryan Gopalan, Anrich Nortje