SA20 2025 : Noor Ahmad’s Spectacular 4 Wicket Haul Tom Abell’s Half Century & Bowlers Delivers First Win Of The Season For Sunrisers Eastern Cape

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In a breathtaking display of spin bowling, Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad delivered a standout performance for the Durban Super Giants (DSG) during their league match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) in the ongoing SA20 2025 tournament on January 17. The left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad  achieved remarkable figures of 4 wickets for just 25 runs in 4 overs at Kingsmead, Durban.

Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad gave Chennai Super Kings (CSK) fans all the more reason to drool about the prospect of him bowling at Chepauk as the 20-year-old, in Durban on January 17 (Friday), ran through the Sunrisers Eastern Cape batting line-up to register the second-best figures in SA20 2025.

In a sizzling showing with the ball, the left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad spun a web around the SEC batters to finish with figures of 4/25 – the second 4+ wicket haul of this edition of SA20 after Delano Potgieter’s 5/10 in the first game of the season. It’s also only the fourth time in his career the youngster Noor Ahmad has picked 4 or more wickets in an innings, with the previous instance coming in August last year in the Shpageeza Cricket League.

Pitch Report and Toss

Pitch Report : Talking about the dimensions, 62m and 57m square boundaries and 75m down the ground. The area they would want to target would be mid-on because of the stiff breeze blowing across that side. It’s a different kind of surface, they have taken most of the grass out. There will be some turn and grip for the spinners. I think it will play well overall and it won’t change much in the second half, reckons Shaun Pollock.

Toss : Durban Super Giants skipper Keshav Maharaj won the toss and chose to bowl with two changes in the playing XI bringing in Williamson and Parson. Sunrisers Eastern Cape skipper Aiden Markram batting first also made two changes in the playing XI bringing in Hermann and Liam Dawson.

Tom Abell’s half century a key as Noor Ahmad’s 4-fer restricts SEC to 165 for 5 in 20 overs

Aiden Markram decided to bat first on what he thought was a ‘pretty dry surface’ but it came with a bit of sluggishness. Naveen Ul Haq took out opener David Bedingham early but Zak Crawley and Abell got their side going in the first half of the innings.

Eastern Cape won the toss and opted to bat first, beginning strong with an impressive 48-run partnership between Tom Abell and Zak Crawley for the second wicket. However, Ahmad caused a shift in momentum by dismissing Crawley in the 10th over, which marked the start of his brilliant spell.

Noor Ahmad then rattled the batting side with three wickets in two overs – a double-wicket 10th over with the scalps of Crawley and Aiden Markram and then the dismissal of Jordan Hermann in the 12th. Abell pushed on, and found an able ally in Jansen as they added 54 crucial runs for the fifth wicket off just 38 deliveries.

On the night, after a wicketless first over, Noor Ahmad dismissed danger men Zak Crawley and Aiden Markram in consecutive deliveries in his second over. The ball to Crawley was one of the deliveries of the competition, with the right-hander getting absolutely bamboozled by a ball that turned into him sharply. He then dismissed Jordan Hermann and the set Tom Abell in his third and fourth over, respectively, to make it four in the innings.

The Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad  quickly followed up with the wicket of SEC skipper Aiden Markram, trapping him LBW for a golden duck. Noor Ahmad wasn’t finished there; he went on to take the crucial wickets of Abell and Jordan Hermann, effectively restricting Eastern Cape to a total of 166 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Noor Ahmad picked his fourth wicket of the evening when he dismissed Abell for 57 in the 18th over but as many as 71 runs came in the last six overs – with Stubbs chipping in too (15 off 8). They took the Eastern Cape to 165/5, a total that proved to be more than sufficient for their first victory.

Durban Giants skittled for 107 runs as SEC bowlers bowled their team to victory.

Matthew Breetzke and Bryce Parsons gave Durban a solid start to chase but were undone by a bit of hesitation on a run and a good throw from Markram that caught Parsons short of his crease. Kane Williamson, who made a 40-ball 60 in his previous outing, fell for three in Liam Dawson’s first over – giving the bowler a return catch. Dawson struck again in his next over, trapping Breetzke leg before to leave the chasers head to the halfway mark at 54/3.

Durban managed to add 50 runs in the next five overs but for the loss of two further wickets – of Heinrich Klaasen and Quinton de Kock. They needed the kind of late flourish that the Eastern Cape enjoyed but it was not to be as wickets tumbled quickly at the death. Jansen dismissed Jamie Smith and then Gleeson picked two in a three-wicket over that left Eastern Cape on the brink. Baartman finished the job by cleaning up Keshav Maharaj on the first ball of the 19th over.

Presentations and Road Ahead

Aiden Markram the winning SEC skipper said : We got a nice start today, and some partnerships in the middle helped. We were worried with a batting line-up like this, but full credit to our bowlers. We knew we would be in the game with out target, we wanted to take wickets pretty often.

Lots of good stuff with the bat and ball, but still things to improve. Tom Abell adds some calmness and he is also a great player of spin, great guy to have at number 3. Marco has been in good form and we felt in this crunch moment he would be able to strike them well. DSG are a quality side as well, we’ll take any wins we get against them.

Keshav Maharaj the loosing DSG skipper said : Bowled a bit too many soft boundary balls. We weren’t up to the mark with fielding as well, but credit to Sunrisers. We are doing a few good things, want to keep it simple and hopefully things get better. Need to go back to the drawing board and re-assess our tactics.

We are losing wickets in the middle phase, need to show better application. Just a matter of time before we string a few wins. Thanks a lot for the support, we have 2 more home games and hopefully we can give these fans something to cheer.

Noor Ahmad Player of the Match for his 4 wickets said : Just try to contribute with the team, and bowl wicket to wicket. The communication is very good, we talk to each other about the wickets and condition, and different batters. I just keep it simple, back my natural ability. Not happy with this result but we will come back stronger.

Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape put an end to their woeful start to the season – a string of three defeats – with a thumping 58-run victory over Durban Super Giants in Durban. Tom Abell’s brisk half-century, coupled with Marco Jansen’s late surge laid the foundation before the bowling triumvirate of Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson and Ottniel Baartman picked two wickets each to deny the hosts in chase.

In SA20 2025, Noor Ahmad has established himself as a key player, currently leading the season in wickets taken, with six scalps across three innings at an economy rate of 7.33.

The reigning champs have their first win for the season, and it is a thumping victory over Durban Super Giants. They claim a bonus point as well. The first innings saw them get an above par total on this sluggish track, thanks to contributions from Crawley, Abell and a late cameo from Jansen. In reply, the Durban Super Giants started a bit tentatively. Parsons was looking good but a run out cut short his night. Williamson and Klaasen were out early, and Breetzke was tepid throughout his innings.

De Kock and Mulder steadied the innings slightly, but the asking rate was always too much for the hosts. SEC utilized their spinners smartly on this surface that was gripping a bit. Liam Dawson picked a couple of wickets, and Simon Harmer chipped in as well. The pacers then returned to clean up the lower order with the game well out of hands for the chasing side.

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 

 


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