Titans too good for Perth

South African side beat Perth Scorchers by 39 runs in CLT20 opener

Titans too good for Perth

Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids got the boundaries flowing in the opening match of the Champions League Twenty20, the Titans duo orchestrating a 39-run victory over Perth Scorchers.

Titans’ Jacques Rudolph gets set to strike during their CLT20 opener against Perth Scorchers at SuperSport Park on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images

Nathan Rimmington left it late to restrict the hosts to 163 at Centurion, with Rudolph finishing unbeaten on 83 from 59 balls and Davids having contributed 54 from 38.

The Scorchers’ patchy batting hindered their ability to chase the target despite Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 52, with Cornelius de Villiers claiming three for 16 from four overs. Rudolph and Davids produced a steady stream of boundaries in the first half of the Titans’ innings, the South African pair sharing a first-wicket stand of 109.

Davids falls after fifty
But Davids fell shortly after reaching his half-century, courtesy Michael Beer while new batsman Martin van Jaarsveld was dismissed for 19 by Joe Mennie.
Rudolph was just an observer as the Titans collapsed in the final over, Rimmington taking the wickets of Faarhad Behardien and David Wiese with consecutive balls.

Scorchers needed 164 runs to win but the quick losses of Shaun Marsh and Marcus North — both snared by De Villiers — did not help their cause, Marsh caught at slip by Van Jaarsveld for seven before North edged onto his stumps for nought.

Simon Katich was dropped clumsily by De Villiers, but Alfonso Thomas kept the wickets coming as wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn took an easy catch off a top edge from Herschelle Gibbs (19).

Katich was then caught and bowled for 23 by Eden Links, and Wiese claimed Luke Ronchi’s wicket soon after for nine. Rimmington (three) pulled straight to Rudolph at square leg off Roelof van der Merwe, but Marsh brought up the visitors’ 100 with a remarkable 18-run haul in the 16th over.u00a0

Brief Scores: Titans 163-4 (Rudolph 83*, Henry Davids 54; Nathan Rimmington 2-20) beat Perth Scorchers 124-7 (M Marsh 52*, C de Villiers 3-16) by 39 runs