Twitter Reactions: Joburg Super Kings return to winning ways with thrilling six-run victory

Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals squared off in the 11^th game of the SA20 league at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Another day, another thrilling game unfolded on South African soil as both teams gave their best till the ultimate delivery of the game. But in the end, the Super Kings bagged an emphatic six-run victory.

Winning the toss, Pretoria Capitals elected to bowl first. The Faf du Plessis-led side, which had been put to bat first, started off well as the skipper and Reeza Hendricks opened the innings for Joburg Super Kings. The duo sailed through the powerplay, but Du Plessis was dismissed soon in the eighth over when the seasoned Anrich Nortje struck to pick his first of the day.

Even after losing the first wicket, the top-order batters kept going as Leus du Plooy joined Hendricks on the crease. The duo shared a well-composed 73-run stand for the second wicket and kept the opposition bowlers on the edge. Though Hendricks missed out on a well-deserved half-century, Du Plooy remained unbeaten and took the game deep till the final delivery.

After Hendricks’ dismissal, the middle-order unit, which comprises Donavon Ferreira, Romario Shepherd, Sibonelo Makhanya, and Gerald Coetzee came crashing down as Leus du Plooy batted like a lone warrior. Three wickets fell in the final over when Eathan Bosch entered the attack, but thanks to Du Plooy’s 40-ball 75*, the Super Kings posted a decent total of 168/6 in their allotted 20-over quota.

Capitals bounce back, but Super Kings grab the upper hand

Pretoria Capitals’ start to the chase was good as Philip Salt and Will Jacks added 30 runs in the first three overs, but Alzarri Joseph struck on consecutive deliveries to send Jacks and Rilee Rossouw packing. Philip too could not take the game deep and was dismissed soon after the powerplay after scoring 29 runs off 15 deliveries.

Theunis de Bruyn and Shane Dadswell chipped in with the bat in the middle overs, but the Capitals’ scorecard did not improve until Jimmy Neesham unleashed the beast within. He smacked Aaron Phangiso for three consecutive sixes off the first three balls of the 14^th over and brought his side back into the competition, but the Super Kings spinner had the last laugh when he dismissed the all-rounder off the fourth delivery.

The game turned out to be an interesting affair as Eathan Bosch and skipper Wayne Parnell kept adding runs to the board, but the former was dismissed in the 18^th over, and a terrible confusion between Parnell and Migael Pretorius led to the latter being run out. Adil Rashid’s humungous six off Joseph’s final delivery of the penultimate over brought the Capitals back into the game as they were left needing 10 runs off the final over.

Romario Shepherd took charge of the ball in the final over. With seven runs required off the final two deliveries, Faf du Plessis showcased brilliant fielding skills in the final over as the Super Kings managed to dismiss Adil Rashid. Eventually, Shepherd restricted the opposition batters as hosts Joburg Super Kings clinched a thrilling six-run victory.

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