Dolphins hail Phehlukwayo's winning over

The Durban outfit booked their spot in the final after a tense last over at the Sahara Stadium Kingsmead.

After scoring 178/3, the Dolphins were made to work hard for victory as Phehlukwayo was entrusted to defend nine runs in the final over the game – doing so by conceding just three runs to secure the six-run win.

The victory set up a date with the Unlimited Titans in the Ram Slam final on Saturday.

Looking back on the match, Dolphins skipper Morne van Wyk credited his bowlers with sticking to the task at hand after Cobras opener Richard Levi smashed 85 runs to put his side within reach of victory.

“I don’t think we were at our best with the ball in the first three quarters, but that is when it really matters – the rubber meets the road in the last five overs in the innings. There’s extra pressure, a bit more to play for and that is where we came good,” Van Wyk said. “I'm sure the guys will take a lot of confidence from this, it was Andile’s first real playoff game performing like this, Rabian (Engelbrecht) and Aya (Myoli) have never been in playoffs either so those were three key bowlers that will take a lot from this.”

“They stuck their hands up well, we used a lot of bowlers and all of them tried. Perhaps the execution wasn’t always there but it was when it mattered – everybody that came back did really well. The Cobras batted themselves into a position where they were cruising and we somehow exerted a bit of pressure and took the opportunities that came our way and here we are,” Van Wyk added.

Phehlukwayo said he had been mentally preparing for a big challenge in semi-finals.

"During the week I was training and I think I had an idea that a big moment like this would happen. I think I was well prepared and the team backed me,” the 19-year-old said.

Meanwhile, former England international Kevin Pietersen praised the young all-rounder for his big match temperament.

“It was brilliant, he’s got such a calm head on his shoulders, for a youngster he wants to learn, he wants to get better. The good thing about him is that he wants to bowl that over. It’s not as if the captain is saying ‘do you want to bowl that’, he a ‘I want to bowl this over’ bowler,” Pietersen said.

The Dolphins face the Unlimited Titans in Saturday's Ram Slam final - the match starts at 18h00.

Twitter - @gazza_jenks @ECRSportswave @SportswaveAndre

Facebook - ECRSportswave

Image Credit - Gallo Images