Durban Super Giants returned to winning ways after a string of loses and climbed upwards to 5th in the points table to keep their playoff hopes alive. Durban Super Giants did well to hang in there with table toppers Sunrisers Eastern Cape and played the big moments a bit better. Durban lost the toss as Eastern Cape batted first as the Durban Super Giants bowled decently but Tristan Stubbs the captain’s unbeaten 47 off 30 balls took the score to 158/5 in 20 overs with all the Super Giants bowlers taking a wicket apiece.
Chasing 159 for the win, Marques Ackerman gave the Super Giants a fast start and laid the platform while others chipped in from the other end with useful knocks as the Durban side eventually suffered a few hiccups before eventually getting over the line by 2 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Durban climbed to 5th while Eastern Cape stayed at the top of the points table despite this setback in front of their home ground.
Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 47 takes Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a competitive 158/5.Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow opened the batting for Sunrisers Eastern Cape while Kwena Maphaka had the new ball in hand for the Durban Super Giants. The openers gave the Sunrisers Eastern Cape a steady start putting on 24 for the first wicket inside 3 overs before Bairstow was the first one to be dismissed for 11 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name to Gerald Coetzee.
Matthew Breetzke came out to bat next. Quinton de Kock did not last long either as in the next over with the addition of 2 runs, he fell for 13 off 15 balls with 1 four and 1 six to his name to Sunil Narine. Jordan Hermann came out to bat next to join Breetzke in the middle and played out the powerplay. The powerplay score at the end of 6 overs was 38/2. The duo carried on beyond the powerplay as well with Hermann playing the role of aggressor and Breetzke playing second fiddle.
The duo added 38 for the third wicket and almost played out 10 overs before Hermann fell for 29 off 24 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Kwena Maphaka. Tristan Stubbs the captain came out to bat next. Breetzke was going slowly and went at less than run a ball. He added 16 runs with Stubbs before falling in the 12th over for 20 off 22 balls with one six to his name to Liam Livingstone. Marco Jansen came out to bat next.
Just 7 runs were added to the score before Jansen fell for 6 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name as Noor Ahmad took his wicket. Lewis Gregory came out to bat with the score at 87/5 in 13.5 overs and with death overs to come as well. Stubbs and Gregory joined forces to finish with a flourish towards the end. Stubbs was aggressive while Gregory complimented him really well and played his natural game as well.
The duo made sure that Eastern Cape do not lose a wicket in the last 6 overs. The duo put on an unbeaten stand of 71 runs off 38 balls with Stubbs dominating the partnership and scoring 42 off 21 balls in the partnership. The Eastern Cape finished with a competitive 158/5 in 20 overs with Stubbs unbeaten on 47 off 30 balls with 5 fours and one six to his name while Lewis Gregory was unbeaten on 25 off 17 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name. 7 extras given by the fielding side.
The wickets were shared by the Durban Super Giants bowlers. 5 bowlers were used and all of them picked up a wicket apiece. Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 1/20 in 4 overs. Sunil Narine complimented him well with figures of 1/24 in 4 overs. Gerald Coetzee finished with figures of 1/32 in 4 overs. Liam Livingstone finished with 1/33 in 4 overs. Kwena Maphaka was expensive yet again as he finished with 1/44 in 4 overs. It meant that Durban Super Giants target was 159 runs in 20 overs to return back to winning ways.
Marques Ackerman’s blazing start leads Durban Super Giants to a much-needed win.Â
Chasing 159 for the win, captain Aiden Markram came out to open the batting with Marques Ackerman came out to open the batting Durban Super Giants while Marco Jansen got the ball in hand for Sunrisers Eastern Cape. The openers gave the team a fast start as Ackerman was quickly off the blocks while Markram complimented him well as the platform was set to chase this target down.
The duo of Markram and Ackerman put on 49 runs for the first wicket inside 5 overs before the captain fell for 25 off 13 balls with 6 fours to his name. Joss Buttler came out to the crease next. The duo of Ackerman and Buttler played out the remaining balls and overs of powerplay. The powerplay score for the Super Giants was a whopping 71/1 in 6 overs. They carried on batting beyond that point as well. The duo put on 31 for the second wicket before Ackerman’s blitz came to an end as he fell for 45 off 26 balls with 6 fours and one six to his name to Anrich Nortje who cleaned him up.
Sunil Narine came out to bat next. Narine couldn’t hang around either as after one run was added to the score, he fell for a bronze duck to Lewis Gregory. Heinrich Klaasen came out to join Buttler in the middle. The duo tried to rebuild things with a partnership and added 26 runs for the 4th wicket before Klaasen fell for a laboured 10 off 11 balls with one six to his name to Tharindu Ratnayake. David Bedingham came out to bat next.
Just 9 runs were added between this pair before Jos Buttler fell for 22 off 22 balls with one four and one six to his name to Senuran Muthusamy. Liam Livingstone came out to bat to join Bedingham in the middle. Bedingham played decently while Livingstone was going slow as well. The duo of Livingstone and Bedingham added 19 more runs to the score before Bedingham fell for 16 off 14 balls with one four to his name to Marco Jansen. Evan Jones came into bat next.
Livingstone too couldn’t hang around longer after the Bedingham dismissal as after 2 runs were added to the score, Livingstone was dismissed for 10 off 16 balls to Anrich Nortje to leave the visitors at 137/7 in 17.2 overs and the win still 22 runs away from 16 balls. Gerald Coetzee came out to join Jones in the middle and played a quick cameo for the Super Giants. Coetzee played a nice cameo of 13 off 6 balls and added 17 runs for the 8th wicket before Coetzee was cleaned up by Adam Milne for 13 off 6 balls with one four and one six to his name.
Kwena Maphaka came out to bat with 5 runs needed off 7 balls. Finally, the win was achieved for the Super Giants as they got over the line in the last over winning by 2 wickets with 3 balls to spare. Jones was unbeaten on 7 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name while Maphaka remained unbeaten on 1 off 2 balls. 13 extras conceded by the fielding side.
The bowlers of Sunrisers Eastern Cape tried hard in defending the total. Senuran Muthusamy was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/20 in 4 overs. Anrich Nortje finished with 2/34 in 3.3 overs. Lewis Gregory finished with 1/2 in 1 over. Tharindu Ratnayake finished with 1/25 in 4 overs while Marco Jansen finished with 1/25 in 4 overs. Adam Milne finished with 1/51 in 3 overs. So, a win for Durban Super Giants by 2 wickets with 3 balls to spare to go to 5th in the points table. Despite finishing in the losing side, Tristan Stubbs the Sunrisers captain was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
Next-up in SA20 2026 is Match 22 of the tournament where Pretoria Capitals will host MI Cape Town live from Supersport Park in Centurion on Monday 12th January, 2026 at 9 PM IST onwards. Capitals are currently in 3rd place with 15 points from 7 games while MI Cape Town are in 6th and last place with 10 points from 7 games but have won their last two games against the Joburg Super Kings.
We are in for an interesting battle in Pretoria weather permitting and here’s hoping that the rain stays away from this particular fixture. An important game for both teams one can say.
Also Read: SA20 2026: Ryan Rickelton’s Magical Unbeaten Ton Helps MI Cape Town Win Comprehensively.