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Hendricks, Linde lead MI Cape Town to victory in Western Cape derby

golf13 January 2025 19:34| © MWP
By:CS Chiwanza
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Reeza Hendricks and George Linde were at their best as they spearheaded MI Cape Town to a convincing 33-run win over the Paarl Royals in their Betway SA20 match at WSB Newlands on Monday.

Reeza Hendricks played a gem of a knock, scoring a magnificent half-century to catapult MI Cape Town to a total of 172-7.

Player of the Match Kagiso Rabada delivered an inspired two-over spell where he took two wickets for no runs in two overs.

It was complemented by outstanding spin bowling from George Linde. The left-arm spinner recorded his career-best SA20 figures with three wickets for 15 runs in four overs, as the home side restricted the visitors to 139-9.

The victory lifted MICape Town to the top of the table.

The Newlands faithful have not had much joy in the tournament, with this being the home side's fourth victory in 11 games.

However, a dominant win over their neighbours gave them more to celebrate. This is MI Cape Town's fourth win over Paarl Royals in five encounters.

"Brilliant win, we haven't had many at home. So a special night. After the powerplay, the way they batted, it was brilliant from the bowlers. Something I love about this team is the hunger. That gives you something special as a captain," MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan shared after the match.

POTGIETER CAMEO

MI Cape town shelled out over R4 million to secure the services of Reeza Hendricks at the 2024 auction.

However, the 35-year-old did not have the best start to his spell at Newlands.

He returned scores of zero and four in his first two outings. However, the 2024 CSA T20 Player Award recipient showed his quality with a wonderful 59 off 37 balls.

This was Hendricks's third SA20 half-century and he faced 30 deliveries to reach the milestone.

Hendricks set MI Cape Town on course with an outstanding 79-run second-wicket partnership with Rassie van der Dussen (43).

The two batters not only consolidated MI Cape Town's position but also set the platform for Delano Potgieter to perform a brilliant cameo at the death to lift the hosts beyond 170.

The allrounder has been a revelation for MI Cape Town with contributions down the order. He scored a brisk 18-ball 29.

RABADA BRILLIANCE

MI Cape Town did not begin their defence of the total well.

They bled 38 runs in three overs as Joe Root and Lhuan-dre Pretorius took off like a house on fire.

The home side needed something special to stop the burgeoning partnership.

Khan threw the ball to Rabada, who stemmed the flow with a wicket-maiden. Khan took the next over and was tonked for 15 runs.

However, MI Cape Town had Rabada's brilliance to fall back on.

The 29-year-old delivered another wicket-maiden to ensure that both Paarl Royals openers were back in the dugout.

The Proteas pacer dragged the home side back into the contest with his two-over spell. 

George Linde and Rashid Khan tightened the screws by taking three wickets for nine runs in three overs.

Things went south for the visitors from that moment. The Royals lost seven wickets for 28 runs as they capitulated.

"The opening pair gave us a start but in the middle, it wasn't our greatest night. We thought it was a par score and we could have chased it down. Needed someone to hang in there and make the right calls," Royals captain David Miller shared after the match.

Mujeeb ur Rahman launched three sixes in a lower-order counterpunch, however, it was too little too late.

The Afghanistan international threw caution to the wind as he smashed his way to 34 off 21 balls.

His 42-run eighth-wicket partnership with Kwena Maphaka was the Royals' highest partnership.

Maphaka scored an unbeaten 22 off 19 and helped deny MI Cape Town a bonus point.

Rabada and Khan finished with a brace of wickets each, while Azmatullah Ormazai took a single wicket.

MI CAPE TOWN: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Colin Ingram, Dewald Brevis, George Linde, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan (capt), Delano Potgieter, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult.

PAARL ROYALS: Joe Root, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Sam Hain, Mitchell van Buuren, David Miller (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dayyaan Galiem, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi.

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