UP-Tuks crushed UJ by 59 runs to reach the final of the Varsity Cricket tournament, thanks to half centuries by Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen as well as a four-wicket haul for Ruben Claassen.
Markram’s 97 off 57 balls, his fourth half-century of the tournament, and Klaasen’s 58 off 38 balls helped the Pretoria students set UJ a target of 205. Regular wickets curtailed the Johannesburg student’s chances of advancing to the final as they succumbed to the pressure.
Tuks got off to a flying start, scoring at 10 runs to the over, with Markram looking particularly ruthless as he cleared the boundary with ease. Coetzee wasn’t going to let his opening partner have all the fun as he joined in on the fun, and the pair helped the Pretoria students reach 50/5 after five overs.
Markram continued to score freely and reached his 50 in fine style off 33 balls, dispatching Ndumiso Mvelase for a maximum over long off. The pair called for the Power Play Plus Over, in the 10th over, as Yaseen Valli reached the top of his run-up and managed to pick up 18 runs which saw Tuks reach 101/0 after 10 overs.
Valli made the breakthrough in the 12th over when he got Coetzee to hold out to Lee Gruskin on the long on boundary for 28. Captain Heinrich Klaasen joined Markram at the crease and kept the scoring rate at close to 10 runs per over as Tuks reached 146/1 after 15 overs.
UJ finally saw the back of Markram when Keith Dudgeon deflected a delivery hit straight back at him onto the stumps at the non-strikers end. Markram was out of his crease and walked off the field to the worst possible way, run out while backing up to end his exceptional innings.
Klaasen continued to score at freely and brought up his half century (off 27 balls) in the 19th over with two huge sixes, first over extra cover and then over mid-wicket. He would lose his wicket in the final over of the innings but the damage had already been done as Tuks concluded their innings on 204/5.
Vincent Moore handed Tuks the perfect start when he removed Valli in the second over, with the help of Claassen who did well to hold onto the catch. Gruskin would then lose Dudgeon off the final ball of the fifth over, as the pinch-hitter saw his stumps flying to hand Lungi Ngidi his first wicket of the match. UJ needed 169 runs to win off 90 balls with their score sitting on 36/2.
Gruskin’s dangerous innings came to an end in the seventh over when Claassen removed the batsman, with the help of Corbin Bosch on the long on boundary before Delano Potgieter was needlessly run out the following ball to leave UJ in all sorts of trouble at 47/4 after seven overs.
Harry van Straaten showed some resistance towards the back-end of the innings before he was removed in the Power Play Plus Over by Claassen for 36. The off spinner would strike again with the final ball of the over as UJ were left dead and buried at 127/7.
UJ managed to bat out their 20 overs and finished their innings on 155/7. Claassen was the pick of the Tuks bowlers, finishing on figures of 4/31 from his four overs, including two wickets in the Power Play Plus Over.
Scores:
UP-Tuks: 204/5 (A Markram 97, H Klaasen 58; Y Valli 2/35, H van Straaten 1/36)
UJ: 155/7 (H van Straaten 36, L Gruskin 30; R Claassen 4/31, V Moore 1/28)
Teams:
UP-Tuks: Aiden Markram, Murray Coetzee, Jacques Snyman, Johan Wessels, Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Gerry Pike, Corbin Bosch, Ruben Claassen, Bantu Dandala, Vincent Moore, Lungi Ngidi.
UJ: Yaseen Valli, Lee Gruskin, Delano Potgieter, Neels Bergh (captain), Harry Van Straaten, Jayden Broodryk, Umar Asad, Grant Roelofsen, Ndumiso Mvelase, Keith Dudgeon, Matthew Varner.
