A wave of triumph and gratitude fills the air as we seal a top-two finish on the SA20 2024 points table with an eight-run victory over Pretoria Capitals in our final home game at Kingsmead this season.
We emerged victorious in four of the five games played at home this season and it would not have been possible without the roaring cheers from the fans.
We chose to bat first after winning the toss and Matthew Breetzke’s solid start got us off to a flyer! Pretoria Capitals made a comeback to keep us at 174/9 but Junior Dala’s 5/26 ensured we had enough to defend and restrict Pretoria Capitals to 166/9 to win the match by eight runs.
We now have 32 points from nine matches. Paarl Royals (22 points) and Sunrisers Eastern Cape (19 points) are second and third on the points table, respectively, but will face each other twice before the playoffs begin. It means we take the spot in the top two even if Paarl Royals win both their remaining matches with bonus points and we lose to Joburg Super Kings in our final league game on Saturday.
A Breetzke-brisk start!
Matthew Breetzke set Kingsmead on fire with his attractive 73 at the top. His 46-ball innings included 10 cracking fours and three maximums, one of which came in the first over against Eathan Bosch to get off the mark.
Breetzke pounded 4,4,6,4 in the first four balls of the third over by Bosch to set the tone for the innings.
While Breetzke was there, we were cruising towards 200 with 110/2 in 11 overs. Senuran Muthusamy pegged us back in the 12th over with the wickets of Breetzke and Keemo Paul.
As the ball got softer, scoring got tougher. However, handy contributions from Heinrich Klaasen (30 off 18), JJ Smuts (21* off 17) and a boundary followed by a six off the final two balls of the innings by Naveen-ul-Haq took us to an above-par total on the wicket.
Junior Dala’s delight!
Phil Salt carved Wiaan Mulder off to backward point on the second ball of the innings. However, Junior Dala defied gravity and showed exceptional awareness to palm the ball up in the air and grab it on the second attempt.
While we maintained an iron grip at one end, Will Jacks kept Pretoria Capitals in the hunt by scoring freely from the other.
Dala then castled Jacks in the ninth over to take the ship to calmer waters. He then cleaned up Colin Ackermann in his next over to reduce Pretoria Capitals to 93/4 in 11 overs.
Mulder, Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmad tightened the screws to take the required rate up and above before Dala removed Rilee Rossouw, Wayne Parnell and Eathan Bosch to complete his fifer.
Despite Adil Rashid’s cameo at the end, we had enough in the reservoir to seal the win comfortably.
What next for the Super Giants?
We’ll be heading to Johannesburg to take on Joburg Super Kings in our final match of the league stage on Saturday. While we are certain of a top-two finish, a win there would be the icing on the cake going into the playoffs.
Brief Scores: Durban’s Super Giants 174/9 in 20 overs (Matthew Breetzke 73; Daryn Dupavillon 3/25) beat Pretoria Capitals 166/9 in 20 overs (Will Jacks 41; Junior Dala 5/26) by 8 runs.
