Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Will Jacks created a partnership record for the Capitals, however, it wasn’t enough for them to win points. In reply, the Pretoria Capitals came agonizingly close to pulling off the chase, finishing at 207/6 in their 20 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sensational, smashing 89 runs off 43 balls with 3 fours and 7 towering sixes. Will Jacks complemented him with a blistering 64 off 35 balls, setting the tone for a thrilling chase.
The Afghan duo of Noor Ahmad and Naveen ul Haq applied the choke in the end as the Capitals kept losing after the record partnership between the openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Will Jacks was broken in the 13th over. Durban’s Super Giants prevailed in a high-scoring thriller amid a jam-packed Kingsmead as Pretoria Capitals bottled a run-chase from needing 41 runs off as many deliveries in their campaign-opening game of SA20 2025 on Friday, January 10.
Durban’s Super Giants kept fighting till the end to win their campaign opener in SA20 2025 out of nowhere after the Pretoria Capitals had smashed 154 runs in 12 overs.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: “63m and 55m square boundaries, 76m down the ground. There’s some cracks, dry grass. Kind of even all the way through. Expectation is that it’ll play alright. 170 is around where you have to be. Batting first should be an advantage, they should get more than 180” says Pommie Mbangwa.
Toss : Durban Super Giants skipper Keshav Maharaj won the toss and opted to bat with lots of experience in the playing XI. Pretoria Capitals skipper Rilee Rossouw who also wanted to bat first also made some refreshing faces in the playing XI.
Durban Super Giants set a mammoth target of 210 courtesy quick start , Kane Williamson’s 60 runs and Wiaan Mulders quickfire 45 runs.
Earlier, Kane Williamson’s half-century and a couple of rapid 40-odds from Bryce Parsons and Wiaan Mulder helped the Super Giants get to 209, which was eventually enough.
Kane Williamson top-scored for the Super Giants with a 40-ball 60, while fiery knocks from opener Bryce Parsons (47 off 28) and finisher Wiaan Mulder (45* off 19) set the team up well at the halfway stage. Capitals nearly thwarted that through their swashbuckling openers but fell agonizingly short.
The Super Giants openers Parsons and Matthew Breetzke flew off the blocks, smashing 67 runs in the PowerPlay. Senuran Muthusamy, who finished with incredible figures of 3-21 in a 200-v-200 fixture, broke the first stand in the seventh over with the wicket of Breetzke and then took out Parsons too, ending the latter’s whirlwind essay in the ninth over. Super Giants got to 96/2 at the halfway stage but lost Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen in the space of four deliveries to fall to 118/4 in the 14th over.
Opting to bat first after winning the toss, DSG amassed an imposing total of 209/4 in their 20 overs. Bryce Parsons (47 off 28) and Matthew Breetzke (33 off 20) provided a blazing start, while Kane Williamson anchored the innings with a composed 60 off 40. The late fireworks were provided by Wiaan Mulder, who hammered 45 off just 19 balls, including 4 fours and 3 sixes, propelling DSG beyond the 200-run mark.
Mulder then joined Williamson for a 91-run stand off 39 balls to power the team past the 200-run mark. This included a 21-run over off Liam Livingstone in which Mulder carted three sixes and a 22-run over off Ethan Bosch who was ripping into, by both Mulder and Williamson. They added 82 runs in the last five overs to put their side on course for a win.
Senuran Muthusamy was the standout bowler for the Capitals, claiming 3 wickets for just 21 runs in his 4 overs. Liam Livingstone also chipped in with a crucial wicket, though the rest of the bowling unit struggled to contain the explosive DSG batting lineup.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s heroics and mammoth partnership with Will Jacks in vain as Capitals produces an epic choke to loose the match by 2 runs
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jacks came out all guns blazing as Capitals raced off to 81 off the first six overs. The 210-run target set by the Super Giants started looking like a dwarf in front of Gurbaz-Jacks’ lethal attack. While Rahmanullah Gurbaz brought up his fifty off just 22 balls, Jacks did in 28 deliveries as the Capitals were running away with the game.
During their partnership, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jacks broke the partnership record for the Pretoria Capitals in SA20 as 154 was the highest stand for the runner-up in the inaugural season surpassing Rilee Rossouw and Jacks’ 147-run stand. 154 was also the third-highest partnership in SA20 history as at one point, the game seemed to be ending prematurely before the Capitals decided to self-destruct.
In reply, the Pretoria Capitals came agonizingly close to pulling off the chase, finishing at 207/6 in their 20 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was sensational, smashing 89 runs off 43 balls with 3 fours and 7 towering sixes. Will Jacks complemented him with a blistering 64 off 35 balls, setting the tone for a thrilling chase.
Jacks and Rahmanullah Gurbaz arrived with different ideas on the other side of the innings break. Sixes flew off both their bats for fun as they amassed 81 runs in the PowerPlay. The sixth over was the only one of that phase – from Naveen-ul-Haq – where neither a four or a six was conceded.
They still got a rollicking start having taken 19 runs off Mulder’s over in the fourth and 22 off Chris Woakes’s over in the fifth. There was no slowing the two down even after the field restrictions relaxed as Rahmanullah Gurbaz swung his way to a 22-ball 50 in the seventh over and the 100-run stand was reached in the following over from Noor. By 12 overs, Capitals had 154/0 on the board, galloping towards their big target with the asking rate now down to just seven an over. Then came the turning point.
Noor foxed his Afghanistan compatriot Gurbaz with a googly, getting him to hit one straight to Klaasen at long on to trudge back for a 43-ball 89 that included three fours and seven sixes. The table began to turn violently as the Super Giants picked a wicket in each of the next three overs – Woakes had Rilee Rossouw chopping on off a slower ball,
Noor cleaned up Jacks for 64 off just 35 balls and Woakes then cleaned up Muthusamy. With that the Capitals fell to 183/4 in 15.5 overs. Naveen then bowled an incredible 18th over for just two runs to take the equation to 17 off 12, which was still within reach for the Capitals.
Maharaj built up the pressure on Liam Livingstone and Kyle Verreynne by giving just three singles in the first three balls, prompting a risky shot that came with the wicket of the latter. Maharaj then bowled two dots to Steve Stolk, closing out a three-run penultimate over and leaving Naveen with 14 to defend.
14 off 6 became 9 off 3 when Verreynne pulled a short ball for four to keep the chase alive. Naveen responded with a well-executed yorker on the stumps that allowed only a single, leaving Stolk to get 4 off 1 ball. Stolk attempted to put the length ball away but missed, and could only run one off a leg bye, giving the Super Giants a memorable victory.
The Capitals went on to lose 6/41 after Noor broke the partnership by sending back his countryman Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 89. Chris Woakes, skipper Keshav Maharaj, Noor and Naveen, all chipped in as Super Giants won the game from out of nowhere.
DSG’s bowlers held their nerve in the death overs. Chris Woakes (2/42) and Noor Ahmad (2/34) delivered crucial breakthroughs, while Keshav Maharaj and Naveen ul Haq picked up one wicket each to restrict the Capitals just short of the target. Despite ending on the losing side, Rahmanullah Gurbaz was adjudged the Player of the Match for his scintillating knock that kept the Capitals in contention throughout the chase.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Keshav Maharaj the winning DSG skipper said : At Kingsmead, it’s not over till it’s over, wickets can fall in clusters. Kudos to the bowling unit, even the fielders showed a lot of energy and that ignited us. The support has been really good at Kingsmead and hopefully, they continue to support us the same way.
We knew there was a short boundary but I knew with Noor being the mystery spinner, it would be difficult for the opposition batters to take him on. He took the crucial wickets and the others followed suit. The way Mulder has come along in the last 18 months has been brilliant.
Rilee Rossouw the losing PC skipper said : Towards the end, we lost track of what we needed to chase. Unfortunate it didn’t go our way, it hurts a lot. Credit goes to Jacks and Gurbaz as they played brilliant innings. We thought a score of around 160-170 could be chased down. (On getting the captaincy) I wanted to do this since a long time in my career and hopefully, I can guide the boys in the right direction.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz Player of the Match for his entertaining 89 runs said : I was happy with my performance but disappointed with the result, hopefully we can come back stronger. (On his partnership with Jacks) Our partnership was really good but a win provides satisfaction. I try to play well against him (Noor Ahmad) because he is one of the best bowlers. Unfortunately, he got me out today and hopefully, I can hit him for sixes in the next game.
The Super Giants have stolen this game from the jaws of defeat! This is what this dynamic format is all about! You never know until it’s over. After posting a mammoth 209 on the board, the hosts were the favourites at the halfway stage. But, the duo of Jacks and Rahmanullah Gurbaz took the attack to the opposition from the word-go and took their side off to a flying start. Both of them kept finding the boundaries consistently and smoked the ball to all parts of this Kingsmead ground.
The duo went from strength-to-strength and kept the momentum going in the middle phase. Both of them brought up their fifties and were threatening to run away with the game. Gurbaz changed gears and it looked like he has shut the door for the Super Giants. But, he holed out at 89 and that’s where the game changed. Soon after, Rossouw and Jacks departed in quick succession as the game opened up.
The hosts kept on exerting pressure by bowling in disciplined channels as the batters struggled for rhythm. The runs were hard to come by as the pressure got to the visitors. But, with 21 needed off 18 balls, one would have given the advantage to the visitors. But, a superb 18th over from Naveen tilted the momentum slightly in the home side’s favour as he took the wicket of Neesham and only conceded 4 runs off the over.
Maharaj bowled a brilliant penultimate over as well and got the prized wicket of Livingstone who holed out in the deep. Naveen had 14 runs to play with in the final over and he held his nerves to take his side home. A special mention for Noor Ahmad. The chinaman took the crucial wickets of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jacks and that proved to be a telling difference eventually.
A game that went right down to the wire! The momentum can swing at any point in a dynamic format like T20 and today’s encounter is a prime example of that. The runners-up from last year held their nerves when it mattered the most and were also buoyed by the electrifying home support. Pretoria Capitals let the game slip and came just short at the final hurdle.