By Ross Roche.
The Pretoria Capitals cantered their way to an easy bonus point win over the Joburg Super Kings in their Betway SA20 clash at Centurion on Wednesday night, thanks in large part to a devastating bowling performance.
Having won the toss and chosen to field, the Capitals bowled the Super Kings out for 122 in 16.4 overs, with New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham, 3/7, and Anrich Nortje, 3/14, starring with the ball, before they knocked off the runs in 13 overs as they bounced right back from Tuesday nights defeat.
English opening batters Phil Salt, 52 off 30 balls (6×4, 1×6) and Will Jacks, 34 off 16 (4×4, 2×6) were the chief contributors, as they helped their side get revenge for their six run defeat against the same opponents at Wanderers the night before.
The Capitals innings got off to the perfect start as Jacks took centre stage, smashing them to 42/0 after three overs, as he climbed into Alzarri Joseph and Gerald Coetzee, before he hit Nandre Burger straight down the throat of deep point in the fourth over with the score 46/1.
Theunis de Bruyn was the strangely run out for a duck in the next over when Joseph got his boot to the ball hit back at him by Salt, deflecting it onto the non-strikers stumps with him out his ground and the score 46/2.
Rilee Roussouw then cracked a four and a six in scoring 11 off seven balls, with him bowled by Coetzee and the score 70/3 at the end of the powerplay.
Shane Dadswell (18) then played the perfect supporting innings, giving Salt most of the strike during their 51-run fourth wicket partnership that took them to the brink, before Salt deservedly knocked off the winning run.
In the first innings Faf du Plessis finally came good, but his superb half century couldn’t stop the Super Kings from crashing to 122 all-out batting first.
Neesham was the Capitals star bowler with his figures coming off just three overs, while he also took a wondrous one handed diving catch to get rid of Joseph (5) off the bowling of Nortje towards the end of the Super Kings innings.
The Super Kings thought they had put their batting woes behind them after they managed to score 168/6 against the Capitals in their win on Tuesday night.
But they put in their third dismal batting performance in five games on Wednesday, after they scored 81 all-out against the Paarl Royals and 105/9 against the Mumbai Indians Cape Town in heavy defeats last week.
Super Kings captain Du Plessis has had a poor tournament so far by his lofty standards, scoring 39, 2, 8 and 27 in his four games up to this one, but played a lone hand as he thrashed 51 off just 22 balls (9×4, 2×6) to get his side off to a top start.
Fellow opener Reeza Hendricks, who has also had a poor tournament so far, fell for a first ball duck, edging Eathan Bosch to keeper Phil Salt.
Tuesday’s hero Leus du Plooy (14) then joined Du Plessis, but was virtually a spectator as he watched his captain club the ball to all parts of the ground during their 53-run second wicket stand off 24-balls, before he was caught by Wayne Parnell off the bowling if Migael Pretorius in the fifth over.
Du Plessis carried on his merry way, taking the Super Kings to 70/2 at the end of the powerplay, but his dismissal, caught by keeper Salt wafting at a short ball outside off from Neesham, sparked a collapse of five wickets for eight runs, before they slipped deeper into trouble on 96/9.
The only reason the Super Kings have something to bowl at is because Aaron Phangiso slammed two sixes and a four in scoring 19no off 10 balls in a 26-run last wicket stand with Nandre Burger (2), but it shouldn’t be enough.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Phil Salt (wk), Will Jacks, Rilee Rossouw, Theunis de Bruyn, James Neesham, Shane Dadswell, Wayne Parnell (c), Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje
JOBURG SUPER KINGS: Faf du Plessis (c), Reeza Hendricks, Leus du Plooy, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Donovan Ferreira, Romario Shepherd, Lewis Gregory, Alzarri Joseph, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Aaron Phangiso.