Match Center

Right then, that's all from this entertaining game where Durban's Super Giants came out on top and solidified their position at the top of the standings with a third win on the trot. The 2024 SA20 League action continues on Tuesday, the 16th of January, when MI Cape Town take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Newlands in Cape Town. The first ball will be bowled at 9 pm IST (3.30 pm GMT), but our build-up will begin much sooner. Until then, take care, and cheers!

Heinrich Klaasen is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his brilliance with the bat. He shares that the wicket was up and down and wasn’t easy to get the boundaries. Adds that he had to put in the hard work to get his runs. Shares that the target was to get around eight runs to the over and it worked for them. Mentions that he is putting in the hard work and the game plans are in place. Ends by sharing that he is staying humble and doing the hard work to help him in his game.

Keshav Maharaj, the winning skipper of Durban's Super Giants, says that the wicket was dry and they wanted to use the pitch early on by batting first. Adds that Heinrich Klaasen played well and took them to a reasonable total that they could defend. Shares that they need to make their home ground their fortress and the sky will be the limit for them. Mentions that they felt 140 would be a good total and regular wickets helped them stay in the game. Says that they knew that a wicket would bring a few more and ends by saying that they want to keep doing the process and going well in the tournament.

The skipper of Joburg Super Kings, Faf du Plessis says that it wasn't a disadvantage to bat second as it was an average wicket for both innings. Feels that except for Heinrich Klaasen, everyone struggled to bat on the wicket. He continues by saying it looked pretty good as they bundled their opposition under 140 but they were proven wrong. Adds 130 would have been nice for the team to chase. He also says they felt they have made some mistakes and they will surely learn from them. He also reckons that the wind made it harder for the batters to hit some boundaries. He ends up saying it is important to work on the things in which they can be better and need to look at what works at Paarl where they will be playing the next match.

Time for the presentation ceremony....

Earlier in the game, it was Durban's Super Giants skipper Keshav Maharaj who won the toss and opted to put runs on the board. It was a shaky start for them as they lost both openers inside the first four overs. The Super Giants lost a couple of wickets more in real quick time and found themselves struggling at 37-4. Keemo Paul and Heinrich Klaasen then got together to steady the sinking ship. After Paul fell, Nicholas Pooran joined hands with Klaasen to take the innings deep. However, Pooran could not stay there till the end but Klaasen carried on and took the Super Giants to 145 with his 64-run knock. For the Joburg Super Kings, Lizaad Williams was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 26 from his four overs.

Joburg Super Kings will be kicking themselves here despite getting off to a steady start, they were unable to make use of the platform laid by the openers to get over the line. Reeza Hendricks got off the blocks quickly while Faf du Plessis was happy to bide his time. The Super Kings skipper was the first to depart which gave the Super Giants an opening. Moreover, the fall of wickets at the other end hampered the momentum which ultimately led to the downfall of Hendricks. None of the incoming batters was prepared to apply themselves on this surface and questionable shot selection meant that the Super Kings just could not get any momentum into the run chase. Moeen Ali batted with the intention of taking the game deep but found no support from the other end and in the end, it proved to be a mountain too steep to climb for the Joburg Super Kings.

Despite not having a big total to defend, Durban's Super Giants were hopeful at the halfway mark given the abrasive and tricky nature of the surface. Having said that, they needed early inroads to put the Joburg Super Kings under pressure. However, the first 5 overs did not go according to the plan for them. Skipper Keshav Maharaj's twin strikes brought them back into the act and in real quick time, the rest of the bowling unit capitalised on those twin scalps. The Super Giants' bowlers used their smarts to make shot-making difficult for the opposition and were rewarded with wickets at regular intervals. In the middle phase, Richard Gleeson struck twice in successive overs before Reece Topley completed the formalities with three wickets in the final over. In the end, it was a convincing win for Durban's Super Giants and having kept the Joburg Super Kings under 116, Keshav Maharaj and Co. collected a bonus point from this fixture.

You gotta take your hat off to Durban's Super Giants! Keshav Maharaj and his men have shown why they are leading the pack in the 2024 SA20 League! Not only do they make it three wins out of three wins but they have taken a bonus point from this game. In case you were wondering, in the SA20 League, if a team manages to restrict the opponent to a score which is less than 80 per cent of what they scored while batting first, the winning team picks up a bonus point. On the other hand, the wait continues for the Joburg Super Kings for their first win in this edition of the SA20 League and they have a lot to ponder about ahead of their next game.

OUT! TOPLEY FINISHES WITH THREE WICKETS! Slower, back of a length delivery outside off. Wiese hangs back and cuts it straight to Gleeson at short third. He takes a sharp catch and the Joburg Super Kings finish on 108 for 9. Durban's Super Giants have defended a modest score and won comfortably by 37 runs. Keshav Maharaj and his men make it three out of three and take this game with a bonus point.

Short of length delivery angling at the middle stump. Burger punches it to deep cover for one.

Appeal and given! Back of a length delivery angling down the leg. Burger plays at it and this goes through to the keeper. Topley appeals for the catch and this is given by the umpire. Burger takes the review immediately. The replays show that it comes off the thigh pad and through to de Kock. The decision is reversed and Burger stays on.

Goes full and outside off. Burger drives and misses.

Nandre Burger comes in to face the hat-trick ball.

OUT! TOPLEY GETS TWO IN TWO! Another one bites the dust! Back of a length delivery outside off. Lizaad Williams goes for the cut and gets an inside edge onto his stumps. Williams departs for a golden duck and the Super Kings are eight down!

Lizaad Williams comes in next.

OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! Reece Topley joins in on the fun now! This was a fuller delivery on off. Moeen Ali clears his front foot and lofts it towards the long off region. Nicholas Pooran runs in from the boundary and settles under the skier. He takes it and makes a tough catch look easy.