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Batters grasp centre stage in exciting record-breaking day

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MI Cape Town’s Rassie van der Dussen delights with first century of Season 2

Saturday, 13 January 2024: Betway SA20 enjoyed a “Super Saturday ” with the batters taking centre stage in two highly entertaining matches.

The first double-header of Season 2 provided run-fests at both the Wanderers and St George’s Park, with an aggregate of 803 runs scored across the four innings.

MI Cape Town set the tone for the day with opening pair Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton shattering the all-time competition record for any partnership, with a 200-run opening stand against Joburg Super Kings (JSK).

It bettered the previous imprint of 157 set by JSK’s Faf du Plessis and Reeza Hendricks at the same ground last season.

In the process, Van der Dussen brought up the first century of Season 2 off 46 balls (9 x 4, 6 x 6) to join “The Centurion Club” that consists of Du Plessis, Durban’s Super Giants Heinrich Klaasen and Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Aiden Markram.

Van der Dussen was dismissed shortly afterwards for a superb 104 (50 balls), but it was Rickelton that experienced the greater disappointment as he fell agonisingly short on 98.

MI Cape Town closed their innings on 243/5 – just 11 runs short of DSG’s all-time high of 254/4 against the Pretoria Capitals last season.

It proved far too many for the home side as JSK folded for 145 with only Leus du Plooy (48) and Romario Shepherd (38) making any impression on the scoreboard, as MI Cape Town claimed their first win of Season 2 by a mammoth 98 runs with a valuable bonus point.

The attention then switched to Gqeberha where the Sunrisers Eastern Cape hosted Durban’s Super Giants.

The visitors flew out of the blocks through Quinton de Kock (23 off 16 balls) and Matthew Breetzke (43 off 29 balls).

But that was just the beginning of the onslaught before Jon Jon Smuts, who was traded from Sunrisers Eastern Cape to DSG in the off season, and Nicholas Pooran took centre stage.

Smuts bunted 75 off 38 balls (4×4, 7×6) before Pooran showed his class with a breathtaking 60 not out off 31 balls (5×4, 4×6) that powered DSG to 225/3.

The Sunrisers delivered a spirited rush chase that kept the St George’s Park and the Orange Army entertained until the final over, but ultimately it proved just too much.

Tom Abell (65 off 36 balls) and Tristan Stubbs (55 off 26 balls) both struck half-centuries that pushed the Sunrisers to 190/9 with DSG closing out their second consecutive victory by 35 runs.

Sunday’s action switches to Centurion for the Pretoria Capitals’ first home game of the season against Paarl Royals. The match is scheduled to start at 15h30 SAST.

Source: cricket.co.za

JP Duminy: JP Duminy is a South African former cricket player who served as the vice-captain of the national Twenty20 team. In 2008, he played a major role in helping his national team win their first Test series in Australia against Australia. After retiring from all formats of the game in 2019, JP Duminy started working as a cricket commentator.

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