Faf du Plessis is halfway to 41 and still feels “really, really good from a body perspective,” as he enters his 21st year as a professional cricketer, with a whole new outlook on the game with a sublime unbeaten 30 runs to feature in JSK DLS win over MICT in a rain affected encounter. Faf Du Plessis has scored over 1000 runs in T20s in each of the last three years and also maintained a strike-rate above 140 in that time. In 2023 and 2024, his strike rate was 149.46 and 155.80 respectively, the highest of his career.
At the same time, Faf du Plessis considers himself to be in as good a shape as he ever was and showed that off at a training session recently. He puts both down to a “smarter” approach to preparation, which is paying off with a more aggressive ability at game time.
A joint-effort from the bowlers followed by significant and timely contributions with the bat from Faf du Plessis (30 off 23), Leus du Plooy (24 off 23) and Jonny Bairstow (14 off 14) helped Jo ‘burg Super Kings over the line with the par score in a rain-affected game against the MI Cape Town. After keeping MI Cape Town to 140/6 in 20 overs, the Super Kings reached 82/3 in 11.3 overs when rain intervened and ensured no more play was possible. At that point, the chasing side was six runs ahead of the par-score as per DLS method.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : The Wanderers have always been a cracker of a venue for batters. Bowlers who err off their length can be expected to travel the distance. A high-scoring affair can be anticipated.
Toss : Joburg Super Kings skipper Faf Du Plessis have won the toss and have opted to field with a possibility of rain around the corner to take advantage of the overcast conditions. MICT skipper Rashid Khan batting first hopes to enjoy the match with Kagiso Rabada in the playing XI.
George Linde and Delano Potgieter’s 65 runs partnership powers MICT to 140 runs after tight bowling helped JSK take early advantage.
MI Cape Town’s start to the game was as tough as the finish. They were asked to bat in testing conditions and were down to 21/2 in the PowerPlay. That became 30/4 in the ninth over, bringing Dewald Brevis and George Linde together for a brief show of a fight. They dragged the team to 73 when Brevis was dismissed in the 13th over. Azmatullah Omarzai followed four balls later, leaving MI Cape Town at the risk of folding for a sub-100 total.
Evan Jones strikes early. Reeza Hendricks falls to a sharp catch by Devon Conway. With Cape Town struggling at just 8 runs in the fourth over, Hendricks was feeling the pressure. After a couple of swings and misses, he finally connected—but it wasn’t clean. A full delivery outside off tempted Hendricks to go big, but he sliced it off the outer half of the bat straight to deep backward point, where Conway made no mistake. The Super Kings earned this breakthrough as Hendricks departs for a labored 4 off 13 balls.
Rassie van der Dussen is run out for 4 off 10 balls after surviving a few close calls. A nip-backer from Sipamla forces an inside edge from Connor Esterhuizen, which squirts backward of square. Van der Dussen, trying to sneak a run, is run out by Shamsi and Bairstow.
Joburg Super Kings were taking wickets early, and the pressure was mounting on the opponents as Wiese strikes back, picking up his first wicket with a stunning catch by Wihan Lubbe. Wiese, who had troubled the batters in his first two overs, delivers a pitched-up delivery that draws Connor Esterhuizen into a drive. The ball edges to Lubbe, who makes no mistake. Esterhuizen was out for 8 off 13 balls.
George Linde steps up to rescue the innings, playing a solid drive to extra cover off a full delivery from Evan Jones, followed by a well-timed flick over mid-wicket for a boundary. Sipamla breaks the partnership, dismissing Dewald Brevis for 14 off 13 balls. The short-length delivery climbed on Brevis, who failed to control the pull shot. The ball flew high off the bat and was comfortably caught by Leus du Plooy at deep mid-wicket. This wicket adds to the pressure on MI Cape Town as Joburg Super Kings continue their strong start.
Delano Potgieter, MI Cape Town’s hero with the ball in their season opener, showed his batting proficiency to give himself and the rest of the bowlers a target to work with in the second innings. He joined forces with Linde to add a 65-run stand, with 52 of them coming in the last 24 deliveries. Potgieter finished the MI Cape Town innings with six, four, six in a 17-run 20th over, walking off with an unbeaten 44 off 22 to his name. Linde made 48* off 35.
MI Cape Town were in deep trouble early on, reduced to a dismal 30 for 4 after a stunning spell with the new ball from Wiese, Sipamla, and Jones, who restricted them to the lowest score at the 10-over mark in SA20 history. Despite the early setbacks, George Linde held the innings together, receiving support from a brief cameo by Dewald Brevis.
The real turnaround came from Delano Potgieter, who blasted an unbeaten 44 off 22 balls, guiding MI Cape Town to a competitive total of 140/6, with 52 runs coming from the final four overs to give them a fighting chance in the game.
Skipper Faf Du Plessis stars with the bat as JSK beat MICT by 6 runs in an rain affected encounter
The threat of rain had loomed large all through the evening and finally arrived in the middle of the sixth over of Super Kings’ chase, keeping the players off the field for more than an hour. With five overs bowled, the DLS rule kicked in and at that stage, the Super Kings were ahead of the par score, on 36/1. When play resumed, the chase was down to 136 from 140, in 19 overs.
As the chase begins. Conway and Faf du Plessis are at the crease, with Conway on strike as Boult opens the attack. Boult starts with a back-of-a-length delivery outside off, which Conway stands tall to punch down to point, where the fielder makes a great diving stop. The second ball is fuller, outside off, and Conway drives it on the up, finding the man at mid-off for a single.
Trent Boult got his first victim, removing Devon Conway for 9 runs. The batter backed away, danced down a little, and edged the ball, which initially bobbled in the hands of the keeper, Connor Esterhuizen, before getting secured. Boult strikes once again, continuing his habit of taking crucial wickets. Conway’s dismissal came after he faced 8 balls, hitting 1 four.
Trent Boult bowled a fuller length delivery at 137 kph, but Faf du Plessis was ready. Faf Du Plessis danced down the track and powerfully slapped the ball over long-on for a massive six. The shot was perfectly timed, landing well beyond the fence, as Faf du Plessis made full use of the delivery in his hitting arc.
Faf Du Plessis, who was largely responsible for keeping his team ahead of the par score, was dismissed in the eighth over by Rabada, courtesy a blinder of a catch from Dewald Brevis at deep cover. Brevis intercepted the shot high above his head on the edge of the boundary line, threw it up in the air to cross over the ropes and came back in to complete the take. Dewald Brevis, often hailed as Junior AB or Junior Superman, pulled off an extraordinary catch at the boundary.
The ball looked certain to sail over for six, but Brevis sprinted to his left, timed his leap to perfection, and snatched it out of the air. A massive moment in the game as Faf du Plessis falls for a well-compiled 30 off 23 balls, studded with four boundaries and a six. Rabada delivers the breakthrough MICT needed.
Mindful of the rain, JSK captain Faf du Plessis had played a solid knock of 30 off 23 balls before he was dismissed courtesy of a spellbinding catch by Dewald Brevis on the cover boundary when he tipped the ball back infield before diving full length back in field to complete the dismissal.
Du Plooy and Bairstow were aware of their standing with respect to the par score and did well to keep their side ahead, if only just. Rabada concede four byes in the same over he dismissed du Plessis, while Bairstow hit Omarzai for a six over deep midwicket to push the Super Kings to 59/2 in 9 overs – just 1 run ahead of par score.
After some earlier words with Jonny Bairstow, Rabada gets the last laugh in style. A perfect leg cutter, pitching outside off, angles in, and seams past the outside edge to clip the off stump as Bairstow makes a late push. Rabada marks his comeback with a big wicket.
The next over from Potgieter proved to be decisive as the batting pair collected 15 runs off it through two fours and a six. A four came off Rashid Khan in the next over as rain clouds began to hover above once gain. Rabada added to the drama and tension of the proceedings by cleaning up Bairstow in the following over, but only one more ball was possible before the players had to rush inside .
With thundershowers prevalent all day on the Highveld, the match was interrupted at various stages on Saturday. A lengthy stoppage after the dinner interval caused JSK’s chase to be reduced to 19 overs with the initial target of 141 revised to 136.The players were then forced to leave the field again with the Super Kings on 82/3 after 11.3 overs – six runs ahead on DLS – at that stage. A persistent downpour prevented the players from returning to field allowing the Super Kings to claim the four match points.
Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada claimed 2/10 for MI Cape Town in his first game of Season 3 after missing the opener a couple of days ago in Gqeberha.
No more play was possible as roughly 20 minutes after going off, Super Kings pocketed the points by the virtue of being ahead of the par score. Rain again played a decisive role, but it’s JSK who walk away with the points. The match was decided by the DLS method, with JSK emerging victorious by 6 runs.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Rashid Khan the losing MICT skipper said : The toss is important when the weather is like this. But toss is not under our control. But we fought back amazingly well with the bat. The wicket was good to bat on. The weather made it tricky for the batters. We have played here before.
The ball is coming nicely. The weather made it harder. But in the second innings, it was hard for the bowlers because of the rain. Before the competition, we had a good couple of weeks. Everyone is very excited. We think this is going to be a good year for us.
Faf Du Plessis Player of the Match and winning skipper for JSK skipper said : Was a tricky wicket. The new ball moved. The intent was needed. If you stand still, you are a sitting target. The DLS is way more complicated than I can imagine. We were excellent on the field. On a wet outfield. We didn’t bowl well in the last 3 overs. We gave away 20 runs more than what we expected. Three to four wickets early broke their back while batting.
The players go off. Rabada is miffed. Not a bit pleased. The par score flashed by the electronic screen says 80 which should be by the end of the over. JSK are ahead by a thin margin. And the credit goes to Leus du Plooy and Bairstow till he was there. Remember, we have started losing overs.
Every minute lost will cut down the overs further. There was a big storm predicted. Has that come down now? The 22 yards has been covered in a prompt manner. More covers being dragged down inside. Seems this might be a big delay. We are hoping that we will get more action. The crowd haven’t started running helter skelter which tells us that the rain might be in moderate amount. A few of them have their raincoats on. The MICT players are lurking near their dugout. They desperately want to go back in and have one final throw of the dice.
The rain has had the last laugh. And a few smiles for JSK as well. They have got the points. They win this by the DLS method and by 6 runs. The rain was always going to hamper this game and hence Faf decided to bowl after winning the toss. Knowing the DLS target did help them to stay ahead and plan it better. MICT started off on a disastrous note with the bat but recovered well. But that wasn’t enough. The clouds threatened but stayed away for close to 25 overs.
But then in the 6th over of JSK innings, the heavens opened up and we lost more than an hour. The chase was curtailed down to 19 overs. The little phase after that saw some scintillating action during that time. But the rains arrived again and the JSK managed to win it as they were ahead at that stage. Winning start for the team in yellow. MICT after a win have lost here.
The game has been called off. Joburg Super Kings win by six runs via the DLS method. So the efforts from Faf du Plessis, Leus du Plooy and Jonny Bairstow are enough to ensure the hosts win the chase after a superb performance from the bowlers.
MICT were kept in the game thanks to a 65-run unbroken stand between George Linde and Delano Potgieter, but eventually JSK’s intent-filled start helps them stay ahead before the weather interrupted. They looked set to win even if the game went the distance, so I doubt MICT will feel too hard done by the weather.