KZN LAND OF THE INDIAN WARRIORS, AND PYTHONS…

KZN LAND OF THE INDIAN WARRIORS, AND PYTHONS.

What a weekend, great action from across the country in all BPL leagues, and like in any other week, the action was always going to be electrifying among other things and after all the BPL NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!! Sandile took the trip down memory lane to the province of his birth but what happens in KZN unfortunately doesn’t stay in the coast. On Saturday the match between two of the country’s finest and arguably KZN’s best products still actively involved in the game wasn’t without its share of drama and fanfare, although the match was marred by unorthodox gimmicks here and there, overall pool won on the day and the rest were just occupational hazards. The Viper is actually a living snake, yes it is a fully grown albino Burmese Python code named Jane. Nsovo and Sandile don’t know what hit them, they were just not ready for the Natal Warriors, it was nasty, it was ugly and tempers were always going to reach boiling point. The BPL is a no holds barred competition, it is a street fight, anything goes and athletes can bring in anything and everyone, you can bring your grandmother if you feel that she is a good omen. Kyle has a pet snake and it is here to stay, I pity Nsovo and all the other athletes, I can imagine it is very hard to prepare for Kyle, let alone Jane as well knowing that at the end of the day she is an animal and she could always pounce if she smells a rat.

Akaloo didn’t stop with Shilolo on Saturday, he went on to bag a very big win against Legacy, 4-0, 4-1 now that’s something no one would have predicted but Sandile did mention in his post-match interview after playing Aden that the Viper was playing like a demon lately and as such the double was no fluke and the Sheriff did warn of hurricane Kyle in his previous article. The KZN boys were on some ruthless tip, Hawkeye was his usual best, he hardly made mistakes and kept his opponents in their chairs most of the time. Yulan played 4 sessions in total and he made two apples in each set, now that’s a whopping 8 apples all in one weekend bringing his total tally to 14 in only 5 matches and reclaiming the number one spot. Losing against Yulan always hurts; the guy has been wielding the magic wand for close to 3 decades and he doesn’t look like he will be stopping anytime soon, not even age can stop him. I think it is time that we accept that Yulan is a vampire, looking at his pictures from 10 years ago and today, there isn’t much of a difference. Sandile is considered by many as the best talent to ever come out of KZN but Hawkeye is the master, winning against Hawk would have tilted the scales somewhat and Legacy wanted this win more than any other but I guess not many have come out of Swerve alive.

Looking at  the log, one has to acknowledge that Kyle has come of age, he is joint number one with Yulan but he has lost two matches yet Hawkeye only lost once. Now this is the exciting part about the BPL points system, every set counts and Kyle has always at least won a set even if he loses the match. Now beating both Sandile and Nsovo is a great feat and for that Kyle is the Sheriff’s toast of the week. Players have to play 9 matches in the first round and another 9 in the second round each, Nsovo has had the worst start thus far, he has lost 5 matches in a row. Ok maybe this is better than Kyle in his first season, I think he won only one or two matches throughout. Oh and Aden remains without a win after three matches and it doesn’t help that he will be playing Charl in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend. Once again I would like to highlight that the BPL is so tough in a manner that even the one that ends up at the bottom of the log still deserves your respect and Kyle is a classic example that if at first you don’t succeed, then bring a snake into the club, pardon me I meant dust yourself up and try again.

Does anybody remember the Assassin…? Yes I am talking about the ultimate player, the guys from Cape Town seem to have his number and they dial it as they please. Charl’s secret weapon used to be his intimidating father but that’s changed seeing that he (the father) has become friends with all the BPL players and now Charl can be beat up in his own backyard, Ace consolidated his status on the log at Charl’s expense and that could have just opened the race for anyone. It might be early days but I think that the BPL is not a marathon, it is a sprint and the players understand the importance of a good start.

Mr Padayachee on the other hand has no Cape phobia; he handled Deon Gums Daniels properly and eliminated any disbelief on the doubter’s mind. Leenash is very composed and he also has a very keen eye for a break and clearance. Keegan Keegza Pillay was also in the mood to play this weekend, he took care of Ishmael and Nico Erasmus convincingly, he beat Ish 4-0 and 4-2, this after Ishmael arrived late at the venue and Keegza had rightfully claimed to frames to his good. Azim lost to Nico on Saturday but managed to save face on Sunday when he took apart a demoralized Ishmael Mthethwa. It is mind boggling how a player can be talk of town throughout the year, torment everyone everywhere and yet be humbled in the BPL, this league surely is the true litmus test for the who’s who in pool in South Africa.

Kevin Seseane had a weekend to rather forget, he went toe-to-toe with an unforgiving Mabuti and Zaid, they both beat him 4-2 and 4-0. The win was much needed tonic for Zaid Kara who was at the brink of going 3 matches without a win. Thami was also not that lucky, Yacoob is on a quest to finish the league without a loss, Rea Vaya took the first set 4-2 only for Coobie to turn on the heat and win the next two with the same margin. This leaves the Maestro from Cape Town comfortably seated on the top spot without a loss yet. The only other unbeaten player is Donovan De Doncker who has played only three times. It would be interesting to see what would happen when these two meet; until then, well done to all the winners and better luck next time to all those who came second..

THE BPL NEVER DISAPPOINTS!!!