The SKYCITY Northern Knights have put the SBS Bank Otago Volts in their sights, cutting the lead at the top of the table to just two points after a thoroughly entertaining show from both sides at Seddon Park.
In a game that went down to the final over, the one-on-one contest of the night was between Sri Lankan superstar Mahela Jayawardene, making his first appearance for the Devon Hotel Central Stags, and 23-year-old legspinner Ish Sodhi — who came agonisingly close to taking out the maestro on 57* when an inside edge jagged back towards the stumps.
Jayawardene, who retired from international cricket last year after a stellar career, put on a batting clinic for his teammates, cruising to a class 52-ball 76 to help the Stags recover from losing George Worker first ball of the match.
Jayawardene struck seven fours and three sixes, commanding the park with his virtuoso performance and superb control.
But he kicked himself for throwing away the chance of a century on debut. Along with Sodhi, the Knights' sharp young paceman Scott Kuggeleijn (3-24) almost visibly lifted himself to take on the veteran, and got the reward with a memorable top edge, after well controlled bowling throughout.
Sodhi had to be content with picking up super-talented teen Josh Clarkson, who delighted in his eventual pairing with Jayawardene at the crease.
Clarkson blasted a 31 off 24 before being caught: it was the Stags' second highest performance in a total dominated by the master until the 17th over.
Setting off after the Stags' 170/6, which was deemed a fair total in conditions that required respect, Knights opener Anton Devcich then stood firm for his third half century of the season.
It was a pivotal 70 off 47, followed up by a big-hitting cameo — under runs and wickets pressure at the death — from 22-year-old Nick Kelly, who smashed his fourth six to finish a tight game with an unbeaten 36 off just 16 balls, in just his third match.
Against a confident Knights line-up, pace star Adam Milne had taken out two key wickets cheaply in Daniel Flynn and Corey Anderson — who skidded a catch to straight to the general vicinity of Will Young, who then did well to snaffle it from awkward positioning in the deep.
But Cricket Express MVP Devcich proved stubborn and, by the time the Stags had brought themselves back into contention with late wickets, the equation could have gone either way.
With Kelly seeing it like a melon, it went the way of the Knights, by two wickets, taking themselves to 16 points and clear second on the table, the Volts on 18.
As the race hots up for the finals, all six teams will be back in action on "Super Smash Sunday" at Pukekura Park, University Oval and the Basin Reserve.
Get your Georgie Pie Super Smash tickets online and go in the draw to win a Ford Fiesta Trend Manual*
*Conditions apply
