Port Elizabeth: Captain David Jacobs led from the front with a breezy fifty as Warriors registered a comprehensive 28-run victory over Victoria in their second Champions League twenty20 match here on Monday.
Jacobs blasted a 39-ball 59 bejeweled with nine fours and a six and also pulled off two stunning catches to help Warriors notch up their second win in the tournament.
Electing to bat, Jacobs gave Warriors a solid start but they suffered a mini-collapse before Mark Boucher (31) and Johan Botha (20) helped the team manage a competitive 158 at the St George's Park here.
The Warriors then returned to restrict Victoria to 130 for nine, courtesy some wonderful bowling by Juan Rusty Theron and Makhaya Ntini, who captured three and two wickets respectively.
Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Nicky Boje, Johan Botha and Justin Kreusch also scalped one wicket each to contribute to the win.
Chasing 159 to win, Victoria had a shaky start as they lost opener Rob Quiney (1) in the third over after his short-arm pull off Makhaya Ntini found Justin Kreusch at deep square leg.
Ntini struck again in his second over to remove Brad Hodge (16) with Jacobs pulling off a stunning catch at mid-on to leave Victoria at 20 for two in 4.1 overs.
Skipper David Hussey (29), who almost ran himself out in the fifth over, and Aaron Finch (25) then tried to stem the rot with a 29-ball 39 runs third wicket partnership as Victoria reached 50 runs in 8.1 overs.
Just when the partnership was looking to blossom, Nicky Boje dismissed Finch with Jacobs taking another mesmerising catch to reduce Victoria to 59 for three.
Hussey and Andrew McDonald then added 35 runs in 30 balls but both fell in consecutive balls, spread over two overs, as Victoria lost half their side in 14.1 overs.
Two balls later, Matthew Wade dragged a Juan Rusty Theron delivery onto his off stump, while in the next over Tsotsobe cleaned up Glenn Maxwell (2).
Theron then claimed his third wicket, disturbing Clint McKay's woods, while Johan Botha got rid off John Hastings in the 18th over as Warriors inched closer to victory.
Earlier electing to bat, skipper Jacobs cracked a breezy half-century at the top but Warriors suffered a mini-collapse to waste the advantage.
But a 28-ball 40 runs fifth wicket stand between Boucher and Botha helped Warriors cross the 150-mark.
For Victoria, Andrew McDonald was the peak of the bowlers, scalping two wickets, while Dirk Nannes, Clint McKay and Shane Harwood took one each.
Warriors were off to a rollicking start as openers David Jacobs and Ashwell Prince picked up fours at will to race away to 54 in first five overs.
Jacobs started the proceedings, clubbing three fours off Dirk Nannes in the first over, before clobbering another boundary in the second ball off Shane Harwood.
Prince then brought up his first four, sending Harwood across the short fine leg boundary as Warriors raced to 29 in first two overs.
Nannes and Clint McKay tried to slow things down by bowling two tight overs but Jacobs was simply unstoppable as he blasted three fours and a six to score 19 runs in the next over, bringing up his team's fifty on the way.
Jacobs and Prince kept the scoreboard ticking, taking some quick singles and converting ones into twos.
The Warriors skipper brought up his fifty with a four off Andrew McDonald in the seventh over but a mix-up drew curtains to his innings in the 10th over.
Four balls later, McDonald removed Prince as all of a sudden the Warriors slipped to 83 for two.
Warriors then lost two more quick wickets in Colin Ingram (8) and Justin Kreusch (1) within a space of five balls as Victoria came back into the match.
Ingram perished when his swipe shot off Harwood found Maxwell at long-on, while Justin was done in by a quick stumping by Matthew Wade off McDonald.
Mark Boucher and Johan Botha (20) then brought up the hundred in the 13th over but runs dried up for the Warriors with the bowlers keeping in tight.
A beautiful catch by Rob Quiney at the boundary line brought an end to Botha's innings.
Boucher, who blasted two fours before being dropped by Maxwell in the 15th over, also failed to raise the tempo and was cleaned up by Nannes in the 19th over as Victoria restricted the Warriors to a manageable total. PTI
