Twitter Reactions: Asif Ali's blitzkrieg helps Cape Town Blitz clinch the thriller
Anrich Nortje was the hero with the ball as he picked four wickets.
The third game of the ongoing Mzansi Super League (MSL) saw the Durban Heat locking horns against the Cape Town Blitz at the Kingsmead. While the visitors were coming off a scintillating victory over the the Spartans, the Heat were making their debut this season. The game went down to the wire as the thriller was won by the Blitz thanks to a crazy cameo by Pakistan cricketer Asif Ali.
After being invited to bat first, Durban got off to a decent start. Morne van Wyk took the attack to the opposition as he added 41 runs along with Hashim Amla within six overs. Just when it felt like they had a platform to launch, Anrich Nortje came up with a superb spell of bowling. He made the ball talk big time and sent back three batsmen in the same over and then again snaffled Temba Bavuma in his next over to reduced them to 48/4 from 41/0.
The home side lost all the momentum gained by the openers but there was a certain Khaya Zondo who didn’t give up. He and Albie Morkel resurrected the innings even as the latter tore apart the bowling attack with his 49 off just 25 cherries. But Zondo was the key for Heat as his late hitting propelled them to a competitive total of 156 runs for the loss of seven wickets after 20 overs.
Ali stuns the hosts
Cape Town Blitz needed a good start to chase down the middling total but the bowlers of Heat kept it tight despite not being able to pick the wickets. The runrate was not going above which kept on increasing the pressure on them and Keshav Maharaj reaped rich rewards for the same. He took three wickets in no time as the Blitz were struggling at 83/5 in the 14th over.
It seemed that all had lost for them in the game and would be playing for the net run-rate now. But Asif Ali who joined the squad just before this encounter, had other plans. He shifted gears suddenly to catch everyone by surprise and literally thumped the ball with utter disdain. In no time, he notched up his half-century and in the 17th over, clinched the game completely from the opposition.
However, after scoring 84 off 33 balls, he was sent back by Marchant de Lange to bring interest in the game. But it was too late by then and the lower-order batsmen completed the chase in the last over. It was a sensational victory for the Blitz as in both the matches so far, two Pakistani players have come to the fore for them winning the Man of the Match performances.
Here’s how Twitter reacted during the game:
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