South Africa’s franchise league kicks off with a 449-run thriller.
The new season of the SA20 started with a high-scoring 40-over clash. Ryan Rickelton smashed a blazing century, hitting 11 sixes at nearly a 180 strike rate. In T20 cricket, such an innings would usually be match-defining—but chasing 233, even this brilliant knock wasn’t enough for MI Cape Town. The defending champions fell to last season’s strugglers, Durban’s Super Giants, who began the fourth edition of SA20 with a bang.
In the Boxing Day opener, Durban’s Super Giants defeated MI Cape Town by 15 runs. Rickelton’s 113 off 63 balls went in vain.
At Cape Town’s Newlands, the Super Giants, having won the toss, posted 232/5 in their 20 overs. Remarkably, only one player scored a fifty—Devon Conway, who made 64 off 33 balls. The team still piled up runs thanks to contributions from all.
Conway’s opening partner, Kane Williamson, scored 40 off 25 balls. Jos Buttler added 20 off 12, Heinrich Klaasen 21 off 14, and captain Aiden Markram chipped in with 35 off 17. Ivan Jones remained unbeaten on 33 off 14 in the final overs.
For MI Cape Town, George Linde took 2 wickets for 46 runs in 4 overs, while Trent Boult and Corbin Bosch picked one each. Captain Rashid Khan bowled 4 wicketless overs conceding 44 runs.
Chasing 233, MI Cape Town’s start wasn’t ideal. They managed 51 in the powerplay, which was decent but not fast enough for a big chase. Rassie van der Dussen fell cheaply for 2 off 6, and Riza Hendricks hit three sixes but scored only 28 off 21 balls. Rickelton held the innings together, reaching a fifty in 31 balls.
After 10 overs, the team had scored 88, leaving 145 needed in the final 10 overs. They fought back impressively, scoring 70 runs in the next four overs and reigniting the chase. However, the Super Giants’ bowlers regained control. Danger man Jason Smith fell for 41 off 14 balls, and Nicholas Pooran (15 off 10) failed to fire.
Rickelton tried to keep MI Cape Town alive, but with 22 needed off the final over, he was dismissed on the very first ball by Ethan Bosch. MI Cape Town managed only 217 in 20 overs.
Ethan Bosch played a key role in the Super Giants’ win, taking 4 wickets alongside his older brother Corbin Bosch’s support.
Even after winning the Player of the Match award, Rickelton reflected on the bittersweet nature of his innings: “The team lost, so the feeling is mixed…”
