Botha was named Man of the Match for his all-round performance

Image courtesy of: Zimbio

Johan Botha hammered an unbeaten 42 and took one wicket to lead the Leo Lions past the Capricorn Commanders by 26 runs in Dubai.

Lions captain Brian Lara would have been regretting his decision to bat first early on as his side were reduced to 83/6 in the 12th over.

However, James Franklin and Botha led the Lions’ counter-attack as the former scored a quickfire 31, while the latter made 42 not out, which came off 29 balls and included three boundaries and two sixes.

Thanks to Franklin and Botha’s efforts, the Lions finished on 156/8 off their 20 overs.

Rory Kleinveldt and Jeetan Patel picked up two wickets apiece, while Abdul Razzaq and Upul Chandana snapped up one wicket each.

Chasing 157 to win, the Commanders got off to a strong start as Andrew Symonds and Ashwell Prince amassed a 63-run partnership before Symonds was dismissed by Heath Streak for 21.

Prince fell the very next over as he was caught by Kyle Jarvis, who was the substitute fielder, off the bowling of Scott Styris for 34.

Following Prince’s dismissal, the Commanders’ middle and lower order collapsed as they went from 69/2 to 120/8 at the end of the 19th over. As a result, the Commanders ended up losing the match by 26 runs.

Fidel Edwards was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Styris took two and Streak and Botha claimed one wicket each.

Botha was named Man of the Match.