Quinton de Kock sets off for a run © Associated Press
Cape Town Blitz 172 for 9 (de Kock 108, Williams 2-14, Bosch 2-27) beat Thswane Spartans 112 (Nawaz 3-14, Burger 3-19) by 60 runs
Quinton de Kock struck his fourth T20 century – a superlative knock on a night where only two other batsmen made more than 30 – as Cape Town Blitz countered Nelson Mandela Bay Giants’ bonus point win on Friday with one of their own. This means that Blitz are now six points clear of the Giants at the top of the table. On the flip side, AB de Villiers’ Tshwane Spartans registered their fourth loss in six games, and will wonder how they managed to lose by 60 runs, having reduced Blitz to 101 for 8 at one point after electing to bowl.
The pitch had bothered Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan early on with its two-paced nature. But not to the extent it would cripple all the batsmen that followed the two openers, who still managed to strike at nearly ten an over during their 83-run stand. The introduction of spin through Jeevan Mendis’ legbreaks brought the dismissal Spartans were searching for. Pinchitter Andile Phehlukwayo was bowled by fast bowler Corbin Bosch next over and it was swiftly followed by two wickets in two balls by Sean Williams – Farhaan Behardien and Asif Ali both out after being beaten in flight by the left-arm spinner.
And it just didn’t seem to stop. Batsmen fell against rapidly against both pace and spin and in 5 overs, Blitz had crumbled dramatically for a collapse that read 8 for 18.
Full report to follow…
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo