Mayers stars as Super Giants trump MI Cape Town to pick up maiden victory

The Durban’s Super Giants picked up their first victory in season one of SA20 as they beat MI Cape Town by five wickets at Newlands on Friday night. West Indian all-rounder Kyle Mayers starred with both bat and ball for the Durban side, picking up the crucial wicket of Dewald Brevis and scoring a lightning quick 23-ball 34 that gave the visitors an impressive win over the hosts.

Having won the toss and opted to bowl, Mayers produced the moment of the match in just the second ball of the innings. The Barbados all-rounder delivered a searing in-swinging yorker that castled the in-form teenage sensation Dewald Brevis for a two-ball duck. Mayers’ opening over set the tone for the Durban bowling innings, and MI Cape Town struggled against the new ball, losing four wickets in the first seven overs.

Ryan Rickelton also feathered a catch down the leg side to Quinton de Kock off the bowling of Reece Topley before Prenelan Subrayen picked up two quick wickets. The off-spinner had Rassie van der Dussen caught on the boundary and also trapped Sam Curran for a duck three balls later, leaving the home side reeling at 45 for four. MI Cape Town struggled to find the boundary after the flurry of wickets, but Grant Roelofsen and George Linde finally cleared the ropes in the final two overs of spin to stage a recovery.

The pair added 60 runs for the fifth wicket to get the innings back on track but were dismissed off consecutive balls just before the death overs to dent the home side’s progress. However, MI still managed to finish with a respectable total of 152 as Rashid Khan swung his bat, while Delano Potgieter smashed three late sixes in his entertaining cameo.

The total, though, still wasn’t enough to trouble the Durban batting line-up. Kyle Mayers dominated the powerplay once again, carting Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan and Ollie Stone with a range of eye-catching strokes to give the Super Giants some early momentum. Quinton de Kock couldn’t carry his form from the previous innings, departing for 11, but Mayers’ knock ensured they finished the powerplay at 60 for one.

The left-hander was dismissed by George Linde in the seventh over, but Durban stayed on track in the chase thanks to contributions from Heinrich Klaasen and Wiaan Mulder. Olly Stone picked up four wickets through the middle to give MI Cape Town some hope of a victory, but Keemo Paul applied the finishing touches with his eight-ball 20 to seal the victory for Durban with five wickets and 3.3 overs to spare.