Twitter Reactions: Janneman Malan and Dale Steyn star in the high-scoring MSL 2019 opener

Despite the opposition scoring heavily, Dale Steyn returned with the figures of 3/25 in his four overs which made the real difference.

By Suryesh M

View : 2.6K

2 Min Read

Cape Town Blitz
info
Cape Town Blitz. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Defending champions Jozi Stars were stunned in the opening encounter of MSL 2019. The Cape Town Blitz, steered by Janneman Malan and Dale Steyn registered a terrific victory in what was a high-scoring encounter. After being put in to bat first, the Cape Town Blitz got off to a terrific start. They extracted 69 runs in the first six overs which was brilliant. But right in the following over after the conclusion of the powerplay, skipper Quinton de Kock fell after scoring 35 off 21 balls.

Yet, the batsmen kept applying the pressure on the bowlers. Moeen Ali, at number 3, played a fine knock of 17-ball 25. Liam Livingstone upped the ante further with a blistering 21 off 10 balls which included three humungous sixes. Janneman Malan, on the other hand, held one end tight with some great batting. However, he was unfortunate not to have got a much-deserved hundred. He was left stranded on 99 off 59 balls as his team ran out of overs. Towards the end, a 13-ball 24 from George Linde helped push the team’s total to a mammoth 213/3.

The old workhorse Dale Steyn fires with the ball

Despite losing Chris Gayle for just 17 runs, the Jozi Stars never let the intensity off in the chase. Reeza Hendricks played a fine knock where he scored 80 runs from 53 balls before being dismissed in the 18th over. The most exciting knock, however, came off the willow of captain Temba Bavuma. He absolutely dominated the bowlers in his brief stay out in the middle. In just 15 balls, he mustered 38 runs at a strike rate of 253. Rassie van der Dussen too contributed with an important cameo of 31.

But as the pressure of the chase kept mounting, the Stars lost some important wickets. In the end, they only got to 198/5 in 20 overs and fell short by 15 runs. Despite the opposition scoring heavily, Dale Steyn returned with the figures of 3/25 in his four overs which made the real difference. Twitterati seemed highly impressed with his efforts and want him back in the South Africa team soon. They also applauded Janneman Malan for his innings but felt bad as he couldn’t hit the triple figures.

Here is how Twitterati reacted:

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from theΒ IOS andΒ Google Play Store
MSL (Mzansi Super League)