Durban's Super Giants (DSG) clinched a last-over thriller against the visiting MI Cape Town by five wickets on Thursday. After the business of the three-match ODI series between South Africa and England was done, the ongoing SA20 2023 was back with its hedonistic T20 fun.

Despite battling a finger injury, DSG skipper Quinton de Kock batted like a dream at Kingsmead. His 63 off 41 balls, supported by Matthew Breetzke's unbeaten 48, helped the Super Giants grab a win against a struggling Cape Town.

De Kock's sensational 63

Chasing a sub-par total of 166, DSG deployed Australian batter Ben McDermott alongside skipper De Kock to open the innings. De Kock clarified the intentions by smashing pacer Beuran Hendricks for a couple of boundaries in the first over.

The southpaw blasted a few more aerial hits before McDermott (5) got dismissed by pacer Duan Jansen in the fifth over. Matthew Breetzke joined forces with De Kock at No. 3, as both batters smashed Odean Smith for 17 runs in the final over of the powerplay, taking DSG's score to 55.

A solid performance from the duo continued, as the Super Giants raced to 86 after 10 overs. Skipper De Kock departed in the 12th over after doing most of the damage, His 63-run knock consisted of seven boundaries and three sixes.

Breetzke finishes off in style

Caribbean all-rounder Keemo Paul joined Breetzke at the crease after De Kock's wicket. Despite Rashid Khan's economical overs, the MI Cape Town side leaked runs for the major part of the innings.

Paul smacked left-arm spinner George Linde for 21 runs in the 15th over, reducing the target to 37 off 30 balls. Feary pacer Kagiso Rabada struck twice in the 17th over to remove Paul (31) and batter Heinrich Klaasen for a duck. He further applied brakes to DSG's chase by dismissing Wiaan Mulder in the 19th over.

English all-rounder David Willey joined Breetzke in the final over when the Super Giants needed six off as many balls to bag a win. Breetzke smoked Jansen for a six in the fine-leg region to successfully finish the chase. His mature innings of 48 runs off 39 balls included five boundaries apart from the winning hit.

The chase was set up by De Kock's 63 and Paul's whirlwind 31, as Breetzke ensured his side went home with a win with a 48* of his own.

DSG remove openers in the powerplay

Batting first at Kingsmead, MI Cape Town walked out with their regular openers, Dewald Brevis and Grant Roelofsen, at the crease. Left-arm medium David Willey took the new ball for the Super Giants.

Willey went for 13 runs in the opening over, which included a six and a boundary from Brevis. Medium pacer Wiaan Mulder dismissed Roelofsen (10) in the fourth over, and Dwaine Pretorius removed Brevis in the fifth for 13 runs. A couple of boundaries from the middle-order batter Rassie van der Dussen took MI Cape Town to 44 for two after six overs.

Maharaj and Harmer keep it economical in the middle overs

Despite a few cameos from the Cape Town batters, spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer kept the run flow tight in the middle overs.

Maharaj leaked only 20 runs in his three overs, taking an important wicket of George Linde. Harmer gave away only 21 runs in his three overs, which kept the Cape Town batters reeling at 57 for three after 10 overs.

After van der Dussen's (43) wicket in the 15th over, batters Tim David (33) and Delano Potgieter (32) played their parts to post a respectable total of 165 for five in 20 overs.

DSG skipper Quinton de Kock, after a match-winning knock, said, "It was important to score runs... They put a lot of pressure up front. I feel like I'm best suited at No. 5 as a finisher! Myself and KG have always had battles... It's still a matter of trying to win the game. We still need two more."

With this win, the Super Giants bag four crucial points. They are left with two more games this season as a confident DSG side would be eager to end the competition on a positive note.

Brief Scores

MI Cape Town 165/5 in 20 overs (R van der Dussen 43, T David 33, D Pretorius 2/38) lost to Durban’s Super Giants 169/5 in 19.5 overs (Q de Kock 63, M Breetzke 48, K Rabada 3/22) by five wickets.