Sports
Du Plessis pleased with intent shown by Super Kings in quickfire win
The Joburg side charged to a convincing 10-wicket victory.
Captain Faf du Plessis was pleased with the intensity his team showed on Monday night after the Joburg Super Kings raced to victory in a crunch SA20 clash against MI Cape Town that was shortened by rain.
With the skies having opened up just six overs into the home team’s innings at Newlands, when the players returned to the field after a lengthy delay, the match was reduced to eight overs a side.
Led by captain Kieron Pollard, who contributed 33 runs off 10 balls (including four sixes) the Cape Town outfit managed to reach 80/3.
In response, chasing an adjusted target of 98 runs to win, Du Plessis (50 not out off 20) and Leus du Plooy (41 not out off 14) shared an explosive opening stand as they carried the Super Kings to a 10-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare.
“When there is rain, you are a bit challenged, limited with the options,” Du Plessis said after the game.
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“The first over of the innings set the tone for us. It takes a brave man (Du Plooy) to hit that first ball for six, and the intent was key.”
Still in the hunt
While the Super Kings and MI Cape Town remained in the bottom half of the table, both sides were still in the hunt in a tight battle for spots in the playoffs.
Though he was disappointed to have lost what turned into a smash-and-bash affair, Pollard remained confident his team could bounce back in their last two matches of the league stage.
“Sometimes you have no control over certain things and that’s one of them. You had to maximise the two overs (left in their innings after it stopped raining). Having said that, these things happen and we have no control over that,” Pollard said.
“At the end of the game we have to have a ‘W’ (win). You have to take it on the chin and regroup.”
The Super Kings are back in action today when they host Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the Wanderers, and MI Cape Town are up against the Pretoria Capitals in their penultimate match of the league stage in Centurion tomorrow.
