The Cobras, holding a 351-run lead, were very much in the driving seat when stumps were drawn on the third day of their SuperSport Series match against the Knights at Newlands on Saturday.
At the close, the Cobras' second innings total stood at 255/7, and seemed set to declare their innings on the morning of the fourth and final day.
The Cobras' second innings was anchored by several useful top-order contributions including a half-century by the in-form Stiaan van Zyl, who weighed in with 53 runs including six boundaries.
After Van Zyl's departure the home team's batsmen accelerated the scoring rate and skipper Justin Kemp led the way with a six early in his innings.
Off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala was the pick of the Knights attack with a return of 5/92 runs in 26 overs.
In the morning session the Cobras new-ball pair of Rory Kleinveldt and Vernon Philander made light work of the Knights' lower-order batsmen.
Once Boeta Dippenaar (76, with 14 fours) was removed by Kleinveldt in the 12th over of the session, and the Knights were reduced to 217/7, the rest of their line-up was rolled over for an additional 17 runs.
Philander signed off with 6/61, while Kleinveldt ended with figures of 3/60.
Taking their overnight total of 199/6 to 230 all out allowed the Knights to pick up 2.68 batting bonus points, while the Cobras bagged four for bowling, and took a 96-run lead in the first innings. – Sapa