MI Cape Town: 140/6 (George Linde 48*; David Wiese 1/19)
Joburg Super Kings: 82/3 (Far du Plessis 30; Kagiso Rabada 2/10)
Super Kings won by six runs (DLS)
WANDERERS, JOHANNESBURG - Joburg Super Kings got their season three campaign off to a winning start at home in the Bullring with a six-run victory (DLS) over the visiting MI Cape Town outfit as rain affected the encounter.
A thrilling encounter at the Bullring where spectacular catches were taken, strokes were played and stumps were sent cartwheeling had a disappointing end as rain brought about two stoppages to the match.
The Faf du Plessis side recorded their second successive DLS victory over the MI Cape Town, having beat the same outfit at Newlands last year on the back of the heavens opening in that particular encounter as well.
That's the ball game! Rain has the final say but Joburg Super Kings did enough to claim the W compliments of the DLS method ✔️#BetwaySA20 #JSKvMICT #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/O6lMCht7sz
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 11, 2025
The loss stung this time around just as much as it had last year as the visitors certainly clawed their way back into the contest with a competitive 140/6 having been asked to bat first in gloomy skies in Johannesburg.
George Linde (48, 5x4, 2x6) and Delano Potgieter (44, 2x4, 3x6) played an important hand with bat in hand, with the pair finishing unbeaten and finding ways to score boundaries on what was a tricky wicket to bat on at the Wanderers on Saturday.
This marked a spirited fight from the visitors having found themselves at 21/2 in the first powerplay as David Wiese (1/19), Tabraiz Shamsi (1/19), Evan Jones (1/24) and Lutho Sipamla (1/31) put on a proper shift with ball in hand.
With the ball, MI Cape Town grabbed the important wicket of Devon Conway (9) inside the opening three overs of the Super Kings batting innings and the heavens opened for the first time in the match shortly after, bringing about an hour-long delay to the encounter.
When play resumed, the visitors looked crisp as Kagiso Rabada struck twice in quick succession, dismissing Du Plessis (30, 4x4, 1x6) and Jonny Bairstow (14) to bring the visitors back into the contest with the Super Kings on 82/3 and 52 runs away from the target with 45 balls remaining in the reduced encounter.
Right after Bairstow’s dismissal, the umpires called for the covers as rain interrupted play once again, this time bringing a decisive end to the match as the Super Kings won by six runs on the DLS method.
Despite the weather, the people of Johannesburg turned up in numbers to support the Super Kings, turning the entire Bullring yellow.