SuperKings masters of their own demise against Capitals

The Joburg SuperKings continue to find new ways to trip themselves up, falling to a six-wicket defeat to the Pretoria Capitals in the Betway SA20 after another disastrous batting collapse at SuperSport Park on Wednesday night. 

Just 24 hours after building a winning total against the same opponents at the Wanderers, the SuperKings, thanks to their skipper Faf du Plessis went hell for leather in the power play in Centurion, but then seemed to forget they had another 14 overs to face in their innings.  

It’s been a weird tournament for the yellow-clad Joburg franchise.

They started the tournament by slumping to 27/4 in Durban, then found themselves 20/4 in Paarl and 34/3 in Cape Town.

In that first match, it took a blistering 82 not out from Donovan Ferreira to get them to a match-winning total but in the two games in the Western Cape, no-one came to their rescue.  

Du Plessis started imperiously at his old home ground on Wednesday, displaying, finesse, power and flashiness to make 51 off 22 balls.

There were a hat-trick of cover drives off Wayne Parnell, a pair of muscular straight hits for six and two “Dup scoops” off Migael Pretorius in the fifth over. All was well with his and the SuperKings’ world at that point and then, well, it wasn’t.  

They lost five wickets for eight runs in 22 balls, slumping from 70/2 to 78/7. Du Plessis’s wicket of course was pivotal, with Jimmy Neesham finding the outside edge of the former Proteas captain’s bat at the start of the seventh over. 

Still, given the accelerated start, the Super Kings were in an excellent position where some responsible batting might have got them to a respectable and even defendable score.

That didn’t happen. There was a harsh lesson for Ferreira in that period. He spanked Adil Rashid for consecutive boundaries — the first clearing the midwicket boundary, the second a straight hit for four — but having done so got greedy and was dismissed by the crafty leg-spinner, by a ball that ripped from outside leg-stump and hit off.  

Aaron Phangiso scored 19 off 10 balls, to show just how good a batting surface it was. Neesham claimed 3/7 and added to an enjoyable afternoon with a spectacular one-handed diving catch at backward point. Anrich Nortjé — who also took a good sliding catch at third man — claimed 3/12 

The Capitals made short work of the run chase.

Again Will Jacks, who made 92 at SuperSport Park at the weekend, had the ball flying off his bat as he scored 34 off just 16 balls.

His opening partner Phil Salt, who’s been in equally good touch, finished on 52 not out handing Capitals a bonus point win along with retribution after Tuesday’s loss, that sees them sit atop the tournament log.