Classy Makhanya and relentless spinners see Titans cruise into T20 Challenge final

There was to be no repeat of the record-breaking exploits from Monday, but the Titans showed their professionalism and prowess with the ball in securing what now feels like a customary spot in the final of the CSA T20 Challenge. 

They did so by defeating the Knights by 38 runs in the first of the semifinals in Potchefstroom on Wednesday. 

Under grey skies and a surface that lacked the easygoing nature of the round-robin fixture that led to a world record 501 aggregate runs, the men from Centurion scored at a more conventional - perhaps even slow - rate in reaching a competitive 158/6. 

Signs of the going being tougher were evident from the outset as Dewald Brevis - the main protagonist in Monday's bonanza with a 57-ball 162 - struggled to settle against a fiery Gerald Coetzee, whose exploits in this competition suggest he's also ready to stake a claim for higher honours. 

The former national Under-19 star bent his back and generated notable pace, making life uncomfortable enough for Brevis that he holed out within five deliveries of Migael Pretorius coming into the attack. 

Yet that failure hardly deterred the Titans, who could count on their two leaders, Sibonelo Makhanya and Theunis de Bruyn, to pick up the slack. 

Makhanya, who missed a few matches with concussion earlier in the tournament, was hit on the helmet again early in his knock before showing much class with a fluent 45 off 34 that proved the mainstay effort of the innings. 

De Bruyn was aggressive with a 28-ball 36, but Coetzee (2/28) and Mbulelo Budaza combined well to keep the scoring rate in check, meaning the target was decent if hardly un-chaseable. 

Gihahn Cloete (21) and Jacques Snyman's (33) solid start even suggested the Titans might have a proper