Super Giants vs MI Cape Town, 16th Match at Cape Town, SA20, Jan 23 2024 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Thank you for your company. See you tomorrow for Joburg Super Kings vs Paarl Royals.

Player of the Match is George Linde of MI CT for his bowling: "I don't think I deserve this. I think one of their bowlers deserve it. This is my home ground and I know how to bowl here."

Winning captain Maharaj: "Much needed win. Bit of trouble with the bat early but Matty and Wiaan set us up well. Our execution lacked in back end of the last game. Today we were more clinical. Conditions were more tricky for batters and we utilised. The boys put their hands up. (Breetzke's innings) Its been good to see his maturity. Could've easily thrown it away but he knuckled it down and allowed Wiaan to play freely. (Noor) Found his rhythm and utilised the conditions. He always wants to learn. (Bonus point win, tied with table toppers) It was nice to bounce back. Bonus point even more special."

Losing captain Pollard: "Painful losses, but pitches cannot be used as excuse. Middle and lower order, myself included, need to do better. As a bowling unit we were able to restrict them very nicely. All in hindsight (about not using part-time spin). We can't fault the openers cause they have been batting well. Restricting them to 157 was a positive. George and Kaber were good too. We could've been sharper at the back end with the ball. It's the truth."

Did Durban's Super Giants play better or did MI Cape Town get their strategy wrong? A bit of both, if you ask me!

This pitch was always going to slow down as per most experts pre-game, and yet, Kieron Pollard chose to chase for MI CT. Then, in the back end, the MI CT bowlers offered too many pace-on deliveries when pace-off was the way to go. That's where Wiaan Mulder pummeled them to help score 54 runs in the last four overs of the DSG innings.

In the chase, Keshav Maharaj relied on as many spin options he could gather, including the part-timer JJ Smuts. Compare that to MICT having Livingstone and Pollard but neither bowling tonight. Noor Ahmad's double-wicket burst to dismiss Livingstone and Pollard eventually sealed the fate of the game. The change-ups from Stoinis and Naveen also proved very effective. DSG are now 4-0 against MI CT in the SA20, and are once again in the top-two on the points table.

This win also ends DSG's two-game losing streak that had seen them slip from 1st to somewhere in the middle of the table. For MICT, they leave an opening for Joburg Super Kings and/or Pretoria Capitals to go past them over the next few matches.

now now, MICT have a chance of stopping DSG from getting that bonus point. 125 the target

Chris: "This ones over so moving the chat on, I'd like like to say that I think SA have everything they need to win the WT20 this year. This is the strongest all round team they've had since early 2000s, not just relying on star players. Pace bowling more than covered, Markram, Miller and Klaasen amazing middle order, hard hitting proper AR covered with Jansen, Finally got some good spin options too. Only weakness might be the form of the opening combo but QDK is quality"

DSG need to restrict MICT to under 125 for the bonus point