Joburg Super Kings fast bowlers Lutho Sipamla and Hardus Viljoen ripped through the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to drive their team to a comprehensive nine-wicket bonus point victory on a glorious sunlit Sunday afternoon at the Wanderers.
After all the rain the Highveld has experienced the past weeks, the Super Kings fans streamed through the turnstiles at the sold-out Wanderers to take in the perfect summer’s day to support their team.
The yellow whistles bristling around the Bullring had an immediate effect with Sipamla (3/13) gaining the ultimate redemption.
After the young fast bowler over-stepped at St George’s Park on Friday evening when he clean bowled Zak Crawley with the first ball of the innings, Sipamla followed it up on Sunday by having the England Test batter caught at slip this time.
It was the perfect start for both Sipamla and the Super Kings. With his confidence restored, the fast bowler charged in and claimed a second wicket when Tom Abell chopped on to his stumps to leave the Sunrisers reeling at 0/2 after the first over.
From there on the Sunrisers only slipped further into the quagmire with Jordan Hermann and Aiden Markram also following shortly to leave the defending champions at 17/4.
David Bedingham (48) and Tristan Stubbs (37) attempted a rebuild with a 57-run partnership, but the Super Kings were not going to release the pressure with Hardus Viljoen (4/24) closing out the innings with a superb death over spell that saw the Sunrisers skittled for 118.
The Super Kings’ performance in the field was also exceptional with Donovan Ferreira highlighting it with an exceptional one-handed grab whilst running on the boundary to send Beyers Swanepoel back to the dugout.
The Super Kings’ run chase was near perfect with Devon Conway (76 not out off 56 balls) and Wihan Lubbe (25 not out off 17 balls) easing their team home with six overs remaining.
It was the perfect way for the Super Kings to celebrate their captain Faf du Plessis’ 400th T20 appearance.
“T20 is a strange game. You feel on top of the world after a win like that. As a team, we needed it,” Du Plessis said.
“Two in the first over makes a huge difference. It really breaks a team when you can take wickets in the powerplay.
“From a bowling perspective, we were not far off (in the previous game as well). Today was nice to get a few rewards, especially glad for the bowling attack.”
The League also celebrated its 1 millionth ticket holder at the match which is testament to the unwavering support of the fans who have flocked to stadiums in record numbers to be part of South Africa’s premier domestic competition.
Microwave
The first recorded game was played in 1646.
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In the early days of rugby, there were no points awarded for ‘tries.’