The hugely anticipated Mzansi Super League (MSL) finally got under way in front of a sizeable crowd at Newlands on Friday with the Cape Town Blitz registering the first win of the tournament by beating the Tshwane Spartans by 49 runs.
Blitz set the Spartans an imposing target of 181 to win following well constructed half centuries by Kyle Verreynne and man-of-the-match Muhammad Nawaz.
The other key player for the Blitz was fast bowler Ferisco Adams, who claimed the important wickets of AB de Villiers and Rilee Rossouw, to end up with impressive figures of 3/28.
The Blitz reached 180/4 after 20 overs with Nawaz (59) and Verreynne (53), but they got a scare when captain De Villiers looked to be in the mood as he attacked them with a half century before he was dismissed by Adams.
It was not to be for the Spartans as they were ultimately bowled out for 131, but the fans were entertained by stroke master De Villiers, whose knock of 59 off 30 balls included three boundaries and five maximums.
Looking back at his first competitive match since he retired about four months ago, De Villiers said he felt good on the crease and he was pleasantly surprised by the Newlands crowd who came out in numbers.
"The Newlands crowd seems to never disappoint and I am just happy that the tournament is up and running and the first game is out of the way. This is great for the people of South Africa," he said after the match.
De Villiers said conditions were good for batting and he was disappointed as it was only him, Dean Elgar (32) and Rilee Rossouw (15) who managed double figures.
"With the ball in hand, we played well in patches ... we also gave away free runs during the last couple of overs."
Pakistani T20 star Nawaz, who also claimed one wicket for the Blitz, said there was pressure on him to perform, but he managed it well...