It was a minor miracle, but there were nearly 100 overs bowled in Maritzburg on Friday, as the Dolphins and the Titans continued their sincere battle for Sunfoil Series supremacy. By the end of day two, there was still precious little to separate the sides, with the Titans reaching the halfway point of the match on 240 for six, still 61 runs in arrears.
It means, then, that we could be in for a most interesting weekend of Tom and Jerry, if the weather plays along. Both teams have been keeping one eye on what is going on in Paarl, and they would have been happy to learn that the Cobras seem to be in the ascendancy.
That leaves the door open for one of the two Maritzburg combatants to make a move to the top of the standings, by securing an outright victory. A draw helps no one, really, and it will be interesting to see how both camps approach day three, on a pitch that is taking turn, and also keeping lower and lower.
The Dolphins would have been slightly disappointed in only getting to 301 in their first innings, having resumed on 253 for five overnight. A few of the shots that the home side played were overly ambitious, and they may be left to rue the extra 40-60 runs a little more patience may have added to the coffers.
They played like a team in a hurry in the first session, and they paid for their cavalier approach by losing their last five wickets for just 12 runs. 301 is no shabby total in Maritzburg, but they would have expected a lot more than just a dozen from their lower-order.
As it is, the game has rumbled on at a bouncier rate than usual, and the Titans would have been surprised to be batting so soon. Dean Elgar (34) and Aiden Markram(44) initially added a tidy 79 for the first wicket, but they almost departed the scene in unison, leaving the Dolphins with two new batsmen to work on.
Elgar was surprised by a bit more bounce from the impressive Prenelan Subrayen, while Markram was trapped on the crease by Keshav Maharaj. The Proteas’ Test spinner beat the bat on numerous occasions during the day, but he did worryingly leave the field with a tender groin before the close of play.
The Dolphins will need him back on the park this morning, to firstly stop Heinrich Klaasen (82 not out) from reaching a maiden century, and then whittle out the Titans for around the same score the home side put up.
If that happens, it will be a straight shootout for the full bag of points. Both sides have some handy spin options, and the pitch is only going to encourage them further over the next two days. The wicket-to-wicket bowling of the likes of David Wiese and Robbie Frylinck could also be telling.
So it is tantalisingly poised, but one eye remains nervously on the skies above.