The Titans are still in the hunt to defend their Momentum One-day Cup title, but they know that they simply have to keep winning to stay in the reckoning.
The Sky Blues host the Cape Cobras on Thursday in Benoni, knowing only a victory will do.
Currently sitting in fifth, the Titans were buoyed by their victory over the Lions in the Jukskei derby on Sunday.
Alfred Mothoa took three for 36 in that contest, to set the scene for a sparkling Aiden Markram century in the chase.
“I haven’t been taking wickets the past few games, but I think I’ve been bowling well,” Mothoa said of his return to form.
“For me, they prepared my kind of wicket so I could bowl my leg cutters and off cutters with the odd bumper here and there. So it felt really good,” he said of a Wanderers pitch that certainly kept the bowlers interested.
Prior to the Lions victory, the squad against the Warriors saw former national captain Faf du Plessis come into the fray, to bolster what is already a potent unit.
For Mothoa, though, the most important thing is that the team as a whole keeps winning, regardless of personnel. He enjoyed his role of change bowler at the Bullring, as it allowed him to follow on a tight new ball offering.
“There was a few changes in the squad against the Lions, and the guys that opened, Arnold and Galiem, actually allowed me to do my job well, starting off nicely going at twos. It allowed me to hang back and calculate, and I got a three-fer in the end which is good so I’m happy,” the seamer affectionately known as Harmy explained.
As they look to the Cobras’ visit on Wednesday, Mothoa said they had good memories to look back on.
“In the last game against the Cobras, we won with a bonus point. And looking at where we are on the log we need a bonus point,” he said of the fifth-placed position.
The pressure of qualifying can weigh heavily on some teams, but the Titans have been in this position often enough to know how to best approach the last chance saloon.
“We try to stay in the moment without looking too far into the future. We’ve been searching for the right combinations for us to win a game and I think we found it against the Lions,” Mothoa said confidently.
“The focus in preparation is staying in the moment, focusing on the job at hand without adding any unnecessary pressure. We are looking forward to a good game against the Cobras in Benoni.”
MOMENTUM MULTIPLY TITANS (FROM): Grant Thomson (Capt), Matthew Arnold, Farhaan Behardien, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Dayyaan Galiem, Khwezi Gumede, Gregory Mahlokwana, Imraan Manack, Aiden Markram, Rivaldo Moonsamy, Alfred Mothoa and Diego Rosier.
