AB de Villiers smashed Kagiso Rabada for consecutive sixes to reach a fifty as the Titans claimed an eight-wicket win against the Lions at SuperSport Park.
The million-dollar question at the start of the game was how do you beat the Titans? And the Lions struggled to answer that with a dreadful start to the Jukskei derby.
Aaron Phangiso opted to bat first, but his side were three wickets down for 18 runs thanks to the Titans captain Albie Morkel.
Rassie van der Dussen (0), Mangaliso Mosehle (0), Marques Ackermann (10) and Dwaine Pretorius (20) all lost their wickets, before Wiaan Mulder was needlessly run-out, the Lions reduced to 90-5 by the 12th over.
Lions opener Reeza Hendricks was not startled by the early collapse and continued to push on, reaching his half-century in 35 balls.
Rain poured down after 13 overs of play with the Lions on 103-5.
Play resumed, with the overs reduced to 15, as the Lions added 24 runs for the fall of a wicket, Hendricks ending on 67 off 42 balls (8×4, 2×4).
The target for the Titans was adjusted to 135, due to DLS, and the hosts pushed hard from the word go.
First up was the battle between Quinton de Kock and Rabada, and De Kock got the upper hand, hitting nine runs off his Proteas teammate’s first over.
De Kock (39 off 24) looked dangerous hitting two sixes and five fours but was undone by 19-year-old Wiaan Mulder, with a misjudged pull-shot skying the ball into the hands of Nicky van den Bergh.
Morkel jumped the batting order coming out at No 3, but he lost his partner, Henry Davids, who dragged a Mulder delivery onto his stumps.
In came De Villiers and he was tested with a few dot-ball bouncers by Mulder, before getting off the mark with a single.
The Morkel-De Villiers partnership proved vital as the pair struck five sixes and two fours for their 50-run partnership, and they continued to massacre the Lions bowlers.
Morkel finished on 41 off 16 balls (1×4, 5×6), and De Villiers on a 19-ball 50 (3×4, 5×6) to claim an eight-wicket victory.
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Photo: Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
