Senuran Muthusamy yesterday claimed four of the remaining six wickets required as the Dolphins beat the Titans by 76 runs to claim the domestic 4-Day Series title.
The Proteas allrounder sent down 28.2 overs for a return of 6/79 to help dismiss the visitors for 166 in their follow-on innings, taking their match aggregate to 219 following their dismal first-innings 53.
Muthusamy was aided by Man of the Match Prenelan Subrayen after he finished with 4/56 – meaning that 19 of the 20 Titans’ wickets in the match fell to spin, the exception being a run-out in the first innings.
The former ended with a match analysis of 9/92 and the latter bagged his maiden 10-for with an even better haul of 10/80 in 60 immaculate overs.
The result, sealed just before lunch on the last of five days at Kingsmead, secured the Dolphins’ first exclusive first-class title in the franchise era.
The last time they won it on their own was in 2001/02, as KwaZulu-Natal.
They did subsequently share the prize with the Eagles (2004/05) and the Titans (2005/06), but their success this time was just reward for a term in which they made history by becoming the first franchise to reach all three domestic finals.
They were joint winners of the 1Day Cup with the Lions, who then beat them in the T20 Challenge final.
Imraan Khan’s Dolphins entered the final day in the box seat as the visitors resumed on 92/4.