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Super Giants in stunning comeback win

football15 January 2024 19:40| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Durban’s Super Giants kept their unbeaten record, their place at the top of the table and earned a vital bonus point when they came from behind to beat the Joburg Super Kings by 37 runs in a dramatic, low-scoring Betway SA20 clash at Kingsmead in Durban on Monday night.

Remarkably, the Super Giants were reduced to 34 for four in just 6.1 overs in their innings after they had won the toss and chosen to bat first.

They had then seen the Super Kings cruise to 33 without loss in the sixth over in reply, apparently without a care in the world as they chased a seemingly modest 146 for victory after the Super Giants had finished on 145 for eight with paceman Lizaad Williams the Super Kings’ star performer with 4-36.

But that only tells part of the story. For the rest of the match the tide flowed strongly in favour of Durban’s Super Giants who managed to contrive an unlikely victory.

The change of momentum came, firstly through the vital contribution of player of the match, Heinrich Klaasen, who rescued the Giants’ innings with a superb 64 in 41 balls, and then their bowlers led by spinners Keshav Maharaj (2-17) and Jon-Jon Smuts (1-18) and then pacemen Richard Gleeson (2-22) and Reece Topley (3-19) who finished off the innings after the tweakers had cracked open the top-order.

It was good to see a T20 match that, for a change, wasn’t a run-fest but exhibited a good balance between bat and ball on a pitch that offered something to both.

The Giants’ innings began quietly with just four runs on the board in the first two overs before Quinton de Kock mistimed a lofted drive off Moeen Ali to Reeza Hendricks at long-off.

Matthew Breetzke enjoyed two happy moments against Ali, driving a four and a six off the offspinner, but he then fell to an astounding catch by Romario Shepherd at midwicket as the West Indian somehow clawed a pull travelling over his head off paceman Nandre Burger.

Jon-Jon Smuts had a brief stay before being trapped leg before by Williams before Imran Tahir, returning to his old home at Kingsmead, bamboozled Wiaan Mulder with his first delivery, a googly that speared through his defence and crashed into his stumps.

The 44-year-old veteran’s wicket celebration was the same as it has always been, as he ended halfway to the boundary with his delighted teammates trotting in his wake.

CLASSY KLAASEN

With the carnage around him, Klaasen was playing a different game to his fellow batters as he got himself in before playing some superb cricket shots to reach his 50 in 32 balls with five fours and two sixes.

It was his 22nd half-century in the format and his fifth in the competition.

The two West Indians, Paul and Nicholas Pooran – playing his last game for the franchise – played cameo roles alongside him as the Giants effected a partial recovery.

But Paul was brilliantly dismissed via a combination catch on the boundary by Leus du Plooy and Wiese while Pooran never really got going, scoring 15 off 15 balls.

But the real drama came in the Super Kings’ innings after they had enjoyed a fluent, confident start from openers Faf du Plessis and Reeza Hendricks.

The match began to change in the sixth over when Maharaj, bowling his first over from the City End, turned one sharply past Du Plessis’s defensive prod, knocking back his off-stump.

And then, in his next over, the left-arm spinner bowled Ronan Hermann who edged an attempted reverse-sweep onto his stumps.

Suddenly, after a composed beginning, the visiting batters were thrown into panicky reverse with Maharaj and Smuts both getting turn as well as profiting from variable bounce.

Du Plooy lashed a delivery from Dwaine Pretorius straight to the deep square-leg boundary before England paceman Richard Gleeson snared the key wicket of Reeza Hendricks, superbly caught by Keemo Paul on the extra-cover boundary.

That wicket put the Giants in command and they swept to victory with only Moeen Ali showing much defiance as he hammered three sixes and a four in his 26-ball 36.

DURBAN’S SUPER GIANTS:Quinton de Kock (wk), Matthew Breetzke, Jon-Jon Smuts, Nicholas Pooran, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Keemo Paul, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Richard Gleeson, Reece Topley

JOBURG SUPER KINGS:Faf du Plessis (capt), Reeza Hendricks, Leus du Plooy, Moeen Ali, Donovan Ferreira, David Wiese, Romario Shepherd, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Imran Tahir, Ronan Hermann

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