Joburg Super Kings defeated Pretoria Capitals in the Saturday double header in the SA20 as the Faf du Plessis-led side registered its maiden win in the tournament. Languishing at the bottom of the six-team points table without a win to show in four outings, the Super Kings outclassed Pretoria Capitals to chase down 168 at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
The win came on the back of the fastest-ever SA20 fifty by Donovan Ferreira. The South African 25-year-old, who is part of Rajasthan Royals but is still an uncapped IPL player, smashed a half-century off just 18 balls. He remained unbeaten on 56 off 20 to take his team over the line on the final ball along with Moeen Ali.
The Super Kings needed 16 runs from the final over with Jimmy Neesham rolling his arms. The first two balls yielded only three runs but Ferreira then found the boundaries, scoring a streaky four off his toe-en and a lovely six on a fuller ball to send his team within touching distance. He pulled the next one to rush back for two and levelled the scores before slicing the final one towards backward point for a four.
The win was a much-needed one for the Yellow Army to keep their knockout hopes alive. They have a win and a no-result in their five games, which sees them amass six points. They have now improved on a place and are ranked fifth in the standings, sending the Capitals to the bottom. The Capitals have four points to their name with just one win in four games.
In the other match of the Saturday doubleheader, Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated the Durban Super Giants in another close encounter to mark their second successive win at Kingsmead, Durban. They chased down the 160-run target in the final over, thanks to Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen, whose unbeaten 6th wicket stand of 66 took them home with four balls and five wickets in hand.
Paarl Royals are leading the points table with 13 points (including 1 bonus) and have three wins in four matches. The Super Giants follow them closely with as many points in five games. Defending champions Eastern Cape are at third, with MI Cape Town occupying the fourth place after 13 matches of the tournament.