Durban’s Super Giants fought till the very end, but later lost to Sunrisers Eastern Cape by six wickets in their fifth match of the SA20 2025 at the St George's Park in Gqeberha on Sunday, January 19.
Opting to bat, DSG rode on Kane Williamson’s valiant knock of 44 runs and Naveen-ul-Haq’s unbeaten 30 off just 15 balls to post a fighting total of 115/8 in 20 overs.
Defending 115, the Super Giants’ bowlers took three early wickets before the Sunrisers chased down the target with six wickets in hand.
DSG off to a challenging start
The Super Giants suffered an early blow as opener Brandon King departed on the second ball of the match. Matthew Breetzke was also dismissed cheaply in the third over of the game. The visitors continued to lose wickets at regular intervals as wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock and JJ Smuts fell in quick succession.
Kane Williamson’s valiant knock
Batting at No.3, star batter Kane Williamson showed his class once again on a dry wicket at the other end. The former New Zealand captain played some eye-catching shots as he kept the scoreboard moving. The 34-year-old scored 44 runs off 45 balls, laced with three boundaries. The Sunrisers’ right-arm pacer Ottneil Baartman later dismissed Williamson in the 18th over.
Naveen’s blitzkrieg powers DSG to a fighting total
Following Williamson’s dismissal, Naveen-ul-Haq walked in to bat. The Afghanistan pacer slammed fast bowler Richard Gleeson to accumulate 12 runs in the penultimate over and later clobbered Ottneil Baartman to amass 19 runs in 20th over to help DSG post a fighting total of 115/8 in their allotted overs. Naveen’s quick-fire 30 not out off 15 balls included four overs.
DSG bag early wicket
Defending 115, Naveen provided the Super Giants an early breakthrough as he removed Zak Crawley in the opening over of the run chase. The Afghan speedster dismissed Crawley for 4.
Noor, Maharaj put pressure on the hosts
After losing an early wicket, David Bedingham and Tom Abell added 52 runs for the second wicket before DSG skipper Keshav Maharaj led from the front as he trapped Bedingham in front of the stumps. Left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad continued his brilliant form as he cleaned up Abell in the ninth over of the match. Maharaj then claimed his second wicket of the match as he dismissed Jordan Hermann to bring DSG back into the game.
Tough defeat away from home
While the DSG bowlers fought till the very end, it was the two-time defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape that chased down the target in 15.2 overs to register a six-wicket win in Gqeberha.
What next for the Super Giants?
The Super Giants will look to bounce back against MI Cape Town at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban on Tuesday, January 21.
Brief Scores:
Durban’s Super Giants 115/8 in 20 overs (Kane Williamson 44; Liam Dawson 2/11) lost to Sunrisers Eastern Cape 117/4 in 15.2 overs (David Bedingham 39, Keshav Maharaj 2/18) by 6 wickets.
