Another De Zorzi ton propels Western Province to emphatic win over Knights

Tony de Zorzi continued his run-scoring form with another century as Western Province clinched a bonus point victory against Knights in Bloemfontein. 

Asked to bat first, the visitors stood up to the challenge as the opening partnership of Jonathan Bird (86 off 98) and De Zorzi (133 off 118) laid a solid 208 runs before the fall of the first wicket. 

De Zorzi was caught by Mbulelo Budaza off Patrick Botha in the 41st, after 14 boundaries and two sixes. 

George Linde continued to deliver with bat and ball, smashing 70 off 34 balls as Western Province finished on 366/7, the highest score in the tournament thus far. 

Aubrey Swanepoel (3/63) was responsible for the dismissals of Bird, Gavin Kaplan (23), and Mihlali Mpongwana (1). 

Budaza (2/65) saw off Linde and Mohammad Vallie, while Migael Pretorius dismissed Daniel Smith (26). 

The Western Province bowling attack continued where the batters left off, taking wickets at regular intervals to restrict the hosts to 160 all out. 

Botha (45 off 44) and Pretorius (33 off 27) provided some much-needed runs before they fell to Tshepo Moreki and Junaid Dawood, respectively. 

Dawood (3/38) also claimed the wickets of Swanepoel for seven and Budaza for none. 

Linde (3/35) dominated the top order, dismissing Jacques Snyman (16), Isaac Dikgale (19), and Ryan van Tonder for nought. 

Wayne Parnell was also destructive in four overs, returning 2/15 after dismissing Patrick Kruger (2) and Garnett Tarr (1). 

Bad light stopped play at the Mangaung Oval, and the revised target was 338 in 40 Overs as Western Province won the match by 177 runs (Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method).