Donovan Ferreira and pace bowlers power Super Kings to first SA20 win

An unbeaten 77-run fifth wicket partnership between Donovan Ferreira and Moeen Ali enthralled a boisterous Bullring crowd and importantly ensured a first win for the Joburg Super Kings in this season’s SA20 here on Saturday night. 

Amid another shrill cacophony and a non-stop demand from an overenthusiastic public address announcer for the crowd to ‘BELIEVE’ Ferreira with 56 not out off only 20 balls - the fastest 50 in the tournament - thrashed seven fours and three sixes, to ensure a superb start with the ball by Nandre Burger and Lizaad Willams earlier in the afternoon didn’t go to waste.  

For periods in the Super Kings innings that looked like being the case as they made a sluggish start in pursuit of 168, a target the Pretoria Capitals achieved thanks to a battling 72 not out from Kyle Verrynne.  

The Super Kings scored 39 runs in the power play for the loss of opener Faf du Plessis, who is not having as fruitful a tournament with the bat as last year, and Reeza Hendricks.

Although the inform Leus du Plooy, who made 33, and the ever bubbly Sibonelo Makhanya, who scored 40, shared a 70-run partnership for the third wicket, the rate of their scoring meant Capitals were always in contention as long as they could take wickets

They managed two, dismissing the pair and sending shivers down the spine of the Superkings supporters until Ferreira’s blazing bat and Moeen’s composure saw them across the line with 12 balls to spare.  

Again the Capitals appeared to miss the enforcer role so effectively played by the injured Anrich Nortje last season.  

The man brought in to try and replicate him, Hardus Viljoen, bowls with good pace, but lacks both the control and consistency to trouble batters and his three overs went for 49 runs, which along with James Neesham conceding 44 runs in his spell, allowed the Superkings a couple of easy outlets.  

That skipper Wayne Parnell only bowled one over, suggests his shoulder isn’t quite right, which is worrying as the competition goes into its closing stages and play-off spots are still very much up for grabs.  

The intensity and ferocity of the opening spells from Williams and Burger overwhelmed the Capitals in the power play.  

Both claimed two wickets in that period, with pace allied to bounce their primary weapons.  

At 44/4, the Capitals innings was in disarray, but amidst the carnage Verreynne, playing his first match in the tournament this season, had got himself set  - what he needed was to forge a partnership.  

He had a slice of luck on 29, when Romario Shepherd, who had otherwise produced an effervescent performance in the field making a number of diving stops, dropped a tricky chance off his own bowling.  

It was a reprieve that Verreynne used well, as the partnership he and the Capitals craved eventually came for the seventh wicket with Parnell.  

It was worth 43 runs, and gave the visiting team a foothold in the match.  

Verreynne by now was in firm control, he drove thunderously down the ground, cut with power while a slog sweep off Moeen Ali, where he fetched the ball from outside off-stump showed great endeavour.  

Perhaps more impressively was his running between the wickets, with singles and twos accounting for more than half of his 72 runs.  

He struck seven fours and a six.  

Some lusty hitting from Adil Rashid who made 15 and Viljoen, who scored 10, saw the Capitals reach a competitive total.  

Williams with 3/26 and Burger’s 2/30 were obviously the standout performances for the Superkings, while Shepherd also picked up three, although he took some tap conceding 39 runs in four overs.