Unusual rain could not stop MI Cape Town from recording a dramatic four-wicket victory (via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method) over the Joburg Super Kings in Newlands on Tuesday evening. SA20 2025-26.
MI Cape Town passed JSK’s revised target of 128 with four balls remaining to claim their much-needed first win of the competition.
The Newlands faithful have been patiently waiting for Nicholas Pooran to explode and the West Indian dynamo to deliver a powerful show of the highest calibre. Pooran hit five sixes in a thrill-a-ball 33 that rewarded the crowd who waited patiently despite the persistent drizzle.
Each six was bigger than the last, with Pooran’s quantum leap into the top tier of members. Richard Gleeson will live long in the memories of those who witnessed it.
Pooran eventually fell on his sword and was caught on the deep cover boundary, leaving Rassie van der Dussen (35 off 24 balls) to hold it together before Jason Smith injected the momentum MI Cape Town needed with a boundary-laden 22 from just six balls to the home side to the edge before Karim Janat wrapped up the win with four balls to spare.
Due to the mixed weather, the match was earlier postponed by an hour before Super Kings could start their innings after being inserted by MI Cape Town.
JSK captain Faf du Plessis and his new opening partner James Vince burst out of the gate with a 32-run partnership off just 2.4 overs before Vince (15 off 9 balls) was caught in George Linde’s covers.
Du Plessis has already shown he was in a destructive mood, beating MI Cape Town spearhead Kagiso Rabada four in a row in the second over, and continued to lead JSK’s attack after Vince’s dismissal.
After beating Linde at length, Du Plessis set his sights on New Zealander Trent Boult in the final before the end of the Powerplay.
Du Plessis smashed four boundaries and six to take JSK to 69/2 before the heavens opened again to force the players off the field.
The second delay lasted 75 minutes, reducing the match to 12 overs per side.
JSK’s momentum was seriously disrupted when Du Plessis (44 off 21 balls) fell almost immediately after the restart.
The home side clawed their way back into contention through Corbin Bosch (3/24) and Rashid Khan (2/32), with only Matthew de Villiers (21 from 15 balls) managing to get JSK to 123/7, but that wasn’t enough on the night.
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