All-round Ferreira lifts Super Kings to victory against Durban

Donavan Ferreira produced a scintillating display with bat and ball to give the Joburg Super Kings a 16-run victory against the Durban Super Giants in their opening SA20 encounter at Kingsmead. The all-rounder smashed a fiery 40-ball 82* that rescued the Super Kings from 27 for four and took them to a commanding total of 190 for six. Ferreira also picked up the key wicket of Quinton de Kock for 78 in the chase, helping the Super Kings see out the game and secure a narrow victory to start their SA20 campaign.

The Super Kings got off to a terrible start with the bat after winning the toss, losing four wickets inside the powerplay. Keshav Maharaj kicked things off with the wicket of Reeza Hendricks before his opening partner, Janeman Malan, skied one against Dwaine Pretorius. Quinton de Kock used his spinners to good effect inside the powerplay, and Prenelan Subrayan dismissed Kyle Verreynne and Lewis Gregory in the same over to leave the Super Kings reeling at 27 for four after six overs.

The Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis led the recovery after the early collapse with a vital 33-ball 39 that helped rebuild the innings. The number three shared an important 72-run stand with Donavan Ferreira, who changed the momentum of the innings with his incredible ball-striking. Ferreira took on the spinners, Subrayen and Maharaj, to kickstart the Super Kings’ revival and continued his onslaught after the wicket of du Plessis.

Ferreira shared an 87-run partnership with West Indian all-rounder Romario Shepherd that swung the game in favour of the Super Kings. The pair creamed nine sixes between them and helped the visitors score 91 runs in the final six overs to post a daunting total of 190 on the board.

In response, the Super Giants got off to a superb start to the run chase. The pitch eased out under the lights to make batting easier, and openers Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers made full use of the helpful conditions. Mayers kicked things off with a six against George Garton in the first over, while Quinton de Kock creamed Alzarri Joseph for consecutive sixes on the leg side. The pair also added 22 runs in the final over of the powerplay, taking the Super Giants to 65 for no loss at the end of six overs.

Joburg managed to stem the flow of runs through the middle overs and finally found the breakthrough in the 11th over thanks to an excellent stumping from Verreynne. Quinton de Kock continued his onslaught to bring up his half-century, but Donavan Ferreira dismissed the left-hander for 78 to turn the game on its head. The Super Giants struggled to find the boundary after de Kock’s dismissal, eventually stumbling to a 16-run defeat to start their SA20 campaign.