The Knights had a bat first and scored 223/6 in their 20 overs with Rilee Rossouw scoring 66 off 32, while Jacques Snyman scored 44 off 18 and Aubrey Swanepoel contributed with an unbeaten 37.

Rossouw was at his very best for the crunch game and hit 4 fours and 6 sixes. He needed just 26 balls to bring up his fifty.

‘Coetzee made his T20 debut for the Titans’

The captain of the Knights, Aaron Phangiso, in turn, played a very handy innings of 15* to get his good game underway.

Gerald Coetzee was the pick of the Titans bowlers with 2/37 in his four overs. In the circumstances, Corbin Bosch also had a good game with the ball with 1/35 in his four overs. Coetzee was making his T20 debut for the Titans against his former team. On a more positive note, the Proteas fast bowler was also making his return from an injury and rehabilitation.

Gerald Coetzee. Photo: Titans

In reply, the Titans were restricted to 191/6 in their 20 overs with Donovan Ferreira scoring 48, while Bongumusa Makhanya scored 34. Rivaldo Moonsamy with 31 and the teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius with 21 off 11 got the Titans off to a strong start before the latter lost his wicket with the score on 29 after just 2.5 overs.

The turning point in the game was, however, the dismissal of the ever-dangerous Heinrich Klaasen when he was caught in the deep by Garnett Tarr off the bowling of Phangiso.

‘Phangiso also took two catches’

Phangiso was the pick of the Knights bowlers as he took 2/22 in his three overs, while Tiaan van Vuuren took 2/28 in four overs. In addition, Phangiso also took two catches.

Phangiso told OFM Sport that the win just proves that they can bark with the big dogs in their first season back in Division 1.

“Upsetting a team like that with the world -class players that they have in your Heinrich Klaasen’s, you know, your Keegan Peterson’s, I think it proved to the boys that they are happy to say that, look, we can compete against the best, and we did beat the best,” said Phangiso.

“The Titans are one of the best teams in the country, and what is stopping us from actually setting even bigger challenges with the next two games to come.”

On Wednesday, the Knights will host the Dolphins in Bloemfontein. The Dolphins themselves claimed a four-wicket win against Western Province at Newlands for their first victory of the campaign.

Wednesday's match at the Mangaung Oval is scheduled to start at 18:00.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cg