Advertisement

Rain stops play in Johannesburg

football11 January 2025 20:08| © MWP
By:CS Chiwanza
Share
article image
Rain stops play in Johannesburg © Sportzpics

The Joburg Super Kings were firmly in control, with 82/3 on the board, when rain interrupted their Betway SA20 match against MI Cape Town at the DP World Wanderers on Saturday. The home side was two runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern score when the tie was halted.

 

This is the second time the match has been stopped by showers tonight. The first stop occurred in the sixth over of the Super Kings' innings. The teams enjoyed just over five overs before they were forced off the field a second time. The Super Kings needed 54 runs off 45 balls (DLS) at the time of the forced break. The home side had Leus du Plooy (24*) and Wihan Lubbe (0*) at the crease.

Super Kings captain, Faf du Plessis, ensured that his side was ahead of the DLS required run rate through the first 7.1 overs of his side's innings. The seasoned campaigner was in a belligerent mood, hammering 30 off 23 on a slightly difficult surface. The ball wasn't coming onto the bat as expected in the highveld. Nothing better illustrated that than MI Cape Town's desultory innings earlier in the day. The visitors scored a single boundary in the first 10 overs of their innings.

Du Plessis shared a 30-run second-wicket partnership with Du Plooy. After Du Plessis' dismissal, Du Plooy combined with Johnny Bairstow (14) for a 36-run third-wicket stand that kept the side ahead of the required rate.

Earlier in the day, MI Cape Town mounted a strong rearguard fightback in the second half of their innings after struggling for the first 10 overs. The fightback began with a momentum-generating 43-run partnership between Dewald Brevis (14) and George Linde. However, Brevis was unable to replicate his performance from their opening fixture against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Linde then joined hands with Delano Potgieter to mount a brilliant rearguard fightback and lead the visitors to a respectable total. Linde top-scored for MI Cape Town with an unbeaten 48 off 35 balls. The allrounder struck seven of the 17 boundaries hit by the visitors. He stabilised the innings with two partnerships after a terrible start by the Western Cape side. Potgieter also struck seven boundaries, four fours and three sixes. He was also unbeaten on 44 off 22.

This is the second time the allrounders have come to the rescue of MI Cape Town in consecutive innings. Their 65-run seventh-wicket partnership provided MI Cape Town with a respectable total.

Linde played a cameo for MI Cape Town in their first match, remaining unbeaten on 23 in a late surge that helped his side to a winning total. In that encounter, he shared a productive and unbroken 42-run partnership with Delano Potgieter.

David Wiese showcased his T20 experience with an array of slower-ball deliveries. The seasoned campaigner was unplayable for most of the innings. He finished with a single wicket for 19 runs in four overs. Super Kings debutant Lutho Sipamla gave a good account of himself as he finished with one wicket for 31 runs. Evan Jones and Tabraiz Shamsi also bagged a wicket each.


JOBURG SUPER KINGS: Faf du Plessis (capt), Devon Conway (wk), Leus du Plooy, Jonny Bairstow, Wihan Lubbe, Donovan Ferreira, David Wiese, Evan Jones, Lutho Sipamla, Matheesha Pathirana, Tabraiz Shamsi

MI CAPE TOWN: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Colin Ingram, Dewald Brevis, Azmatullah Ormazai, Delano Potgieter, George Linde, Rashid Khan (capt), Trent Boult

Advertisement