Due to a magnificent cameo from Wiaan Mulder and three-fers from Marcus Stoinis and Noor Ahmad, the Durban Super Giants easily triumphed over MI Cape Town by 36 runs, resulting in their third loss in as many games. Wiaan Mulder bowled impeccable lines & lengths and foxed the batters with his variations.
With a decisive victory over MI Cape Town, who have now suffered back-to-back losses, Durban’s Super Giants return to winning ways. The Super Giants also earned a bonus point as MI Cape Town failed to score more than 125 runs.
Pitch Report and Toss Update
Bowlers, particularly seamers, have an obvious edge on the renowned Newlands Stadium surface because they can take advantage of the extra movement produced by the track’s dampness. On the other hand, spinners have trouble gripping this surface. But if batters stay at the crease for a longer period of time, they can score big runs.
So looking at the bowling-friendly conditions of the pitch, MI Cape Town’s skipper, Kieron Pollard, won the toss and elected to field first.
Matthew Breetzke and JJ Smuts steadied the ship of DSG after the early blows from George Linde
George Linde justified Pollard’s decision to bowl first, as he took the first blood by dismissing Tony de Zorzi and Quinton de Kock in consecutive deliveries after the openers had looked good.
Matthew Breetzke, 48 (46), and JJ Smuts, 26 (23), went on a 46-run partnership that aided DCG’s steady comeback. The Super Giants were at 52/2 at the end of the powerplay.
As soon as Thomas Kaber ended Smuts’ stay in the middle in the 10th over by breaking the threatening stand, their momentum was again disrupted. In his next over, Kaber easily removed the in-form Heinrich Klaasen.
It got worse when Stoinis got an out in the form of a hit wicket, and DSG lost their third wicket for 25 runs in the middle overs of the innings, and the Super Giants found themselves struggling at 97/5 at the end of the 15th over.
Matthew Breetzke and Wiaan Mulder’s innings made a comeback for the Super Giants
Breetzke, who had been the anchor all along, missed out on a half-century by only a couple of runs. Matthew Breetzke then got the support of Wiaan Mulder from the other end, and they both stitched a partnership of 39 (21).
Wiaan Mulder single-handedly made sure DSG had a reasonable total on the board as he struck six boundaries in his 20-ball undefeated cameo that carried his team above the 150 mark.
The momentum shifted towards the Super Giants as they amassed 17 runs in the 17th over of the inning. From then on, they went on for big hits and scored 54 runs in the last 4 overs to reach the 157-run mark.
The spinners of the MI Cape Town, George Linde and Thomas Kaber, bowled economically and struck two wickets each, while after having the opposition on the ropes, the pacers went for plenty of runs in the final overs of the innings. Kieron Pollard missed a trick by not bowling more of the slower bowlers, as he and Liam Livingstone didn’t even bowl one over.
MI Cape Town didn’t get a great start as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals
157 runs on a dry track that became even slower as the game went on, which proved plenty. MI Cape Town has been soundly defeated, and they undoubtedly made a few mistakes both while chasing and when bowling in the first inning.
They played way too many strokes and could never get going on a wicket where the batsman had to take his time to look for the big shots. The hosts lost their openers early in the powerplay and didn’t get a needed start as they were at 35/2 after the first six overs.
As many as three other batters of MICT got starts, but neither managed to convert it into anything substantial, and the hosts slipped to 58/3 at the end of the 10th over.
The MICT’s middle order fails against Noor Ahmed and Marcus Stoinis
They were three down and in trouble until Sam Curran and Dewald Brevis put together a stand of 48-run runs. Curran 38 (27) appeared comfortable and connected on a couple of huge sixes, but he was unable to sustain his momentum for very long.
Brevis 21 (19) soon lost partners and had to navigate his way out of danger, but he too got out in the process. For the tailenders, it was simply too much to bear after that.
To halt the momentum, Stoinis removed both of the set batsmen in his next overs. Meanwhile, Noor delivered decisive blows, dismissing Kieron Pollard and Liam Livingstone in the 15th over of a tight spell of 3–22. Naveen-ul-Haq and Keshav Maharaj supported these two bowlers and took two and one wickets, respectively.
The following Saturday, the day after DSG’s matchup with Paarl Royals at the top of the table, MICT travels up the coast to take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who have defeated them earlier this season.
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