Super Klaasen’s Giant effort
Heinrich Klaasen (right) upstaged Ryan Rickelton as he led Durban’s Super Giants to a thrilling 11-run Duckworth/Lewis assisted win over Mumbai Indians Cape Town in their SA20 match at Kingsmead last night.
Rickelton started the show with a cracking 87 off 51 balls (6x4; 6x6) to help the visitors to a massive 207/5 batting first in their 20 overs, before Klaasen was even more brutal in smashing 85 off just 35 balls (4x4; 8x6) as the Super Giants reached 177/6 after 16.3 overs when the rain ended the match.
The Super Giants innings got off to a difficult start as Quinton de Kock (5) hit Kagiso Rabada straight to Sam Curran at extra cover and Wiaan Mulder (5) was bowled by Beuran Hendricks as they slipped to 12/2.
Matthew Breetzke (39 off 24 balls) and Keemo Paul (15) added 40 for the third wicket before Olly Stone had Paul caught by Hendricks at the start of the seventh over to leave them on 52/3.
This brought Klaasen in and with Breetzke they hammered a 47-run partnership off 24 balls before Breetzke was caught by Dewald Brevis off Curran with them on 99/4 at the start of the 11th over.
What followed was the Klaasen show as he dominated two partnerships of 41 with Nicholas Pooran (11) and 34 with Dwaine Pretorius (6*) as he powered himself over the half century mark and his side into a strong position.
A Rabada full toss in the 16th over then undid Klaasen as he mishit the ball to long off which opened the door for MI Cape Town, but the rain soon came down to end the match with them just ahead on DLS.
MI CT’s innings got off to a slow start with just nine runs off the first two overs before Rickelton took aim at Richard Gleeson in the third, smashing two sixes and two fours as the over travelled for 23 which kicked them into gear as 10 and 14 came off the next two overs taking them to 56/0 after five overs.
Rickelton was by far the aggressor and he tucked into Keshav Maharaj’s seventh over with two sixes seeing 16 come off it, the second of which brought up a brilliant half century off just 24 balls.
Rassie van der Dussen (24 off 20) was the first wicket to fall, caught by Klaasen at deep midwicket off the bowling of Paul and he was followed in the next by Dewald Brevis (5), caught at long on by Breetzke off the bowling of Maharaj, as they reached the halfway point on 99/2.
The second half of the innings saw Rickelton continue to play his shots before he fell short of what would have been a great century, while Connor Esterhuizen (17 off 10), Liam Livingstone (25 of 20) and Kieron Pollard (31no off 14, 4x4; 1x6) all produced cameos to get them to a massive total.