Spinners Seal South African First-Class Title For Dolphins

Senuran Muthusamy claimed four of the remaining six wickets required to win as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins drew the curtain on the franchise era by clinching the four-day Domestic Series title with an emphatic innings and 76-run win over the Momentum Multiply Titans on the final day of the season here on Monday.

South Africa all-rounder sent down 28.2 overs for a return of six for 79 to help dismiss the visitors for 166 in their second innings, following on, that took their match aggregate to 219 following their dismal first-innings 53.

Muthusamy was aided by Player-of-the-Match Prenelan Subrayen after he finished with four for 56. It meant that 19 of the 20 Titans' wickets in the match fell to spin, exception being a run-out in the first innings. Muthusamy ended with a match analysis of nine for 92 and the latter bagged his maiden 10-wicket haul, 10 for 80 in 60 immaculate overs.

The result, sealed just before lunch on the fifth morning of the five-day match at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium, secured for host Dolphins a maiden exclusive first-class title in the franchise era. The last time they won it on their own was in 2001-02 when they were known as KwaZulu-Natal.

Dolphins did subsequently share the prize with the Eagles (2004-05) and the Titans (2005-06), but their success in the current campaign was just reward for a term in which they made history by becoming the first franchise to reach all three franchise finals. They were joint winners of the Momentum One-Day Cup with the Imperial Lions, who then beat them in the Betway T20 Challenge final.

But Dolphins managed to bounce back from that to secure the most prestigious title on offer in what was the final match before a shift towards a new provincial system from next season.

Imraan Khan's charges entered the final day in the box seat as the visitors resumed on 92 for four. Twelve runs into the day and they lost their remaining key batsmen in captain Grant Thomson (2) and Neil Brand (10), both falling to the slow left-arm wizardry of Muthusamy.

The bowler then outfoxed Dayyaan Galiem (10), with Subrayen's double strike wrapping up his 10-for. The match then ended with Muthusamy dislodging top-scorer Rivaldo Moonsamy (41) rounding off a resounding victory for the hosts.