Heinrich Klaasen century keeps Durban Super Giants playoff hopes alive

Durban need Pretoria Capitals to win convincingly against Paarl Royals on Monday in order to make the top four and qualify for the SA20 knockout phase

Nick Friend | 05/02/2023 at 18:38

Centurion: Durban Super Giants 254-4, Pretoria Capitals 103 - Durban Super Giants win by 151 runs

Scorecard

Heinrich Klaasen smashed a hundred as Durban Super Giants gave themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockout phase of the inaugural SA20, hammering Pretoria Capitals by 151 runs.

Klaasen's 43-ball century set Super Giants up for the fifth-highest score in the history of men's franchise T20 cricket. They made 254 for 4, with Klaasen finishing unbeaten on 104 after reaching three figures off the penultimate ball of the innings.

It was an extraordinary assault from the South Africa wicketkeeper-batter in conditions at Centurion that were favourable for batting, with Quinton de Kock (43), Ben McDermott (41) and Matthew Breetzke (46*) all adding superb cameos.

No Pretoria Capitals bowler was spared: Josh Little's first went for 18, Senuran Muthusamy's two cost 29 and Migael Pretorius was plundered for 62 in his allocation.

Durban reached the hundred-mark after 8.1 overs as 15 sixes were struck in 20 overs.

An experiment to use David Willey as a pinch-hitter didn't pay off, and Wiaan Mulder was brilliantly caught by Jimmy Neesham at backward point as his showreel of spectacular catches earned two new entries – earlier, the allrounder had plucked de Kock with one hand in his follow-through – but otherwise Super Giants were dominant.

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^{Durban Super Giants won by 151 runs; they will only qualify if Pretoria Capitals win convincingly against Paarl Royals on Monday (Sportzpics/SA20/CSA)}

Klaasen hammered Muthusamy and Daryn Dupavillion, reaching his century by whacking an enormous straight six and raising his arms aloft. It was only the second hundred of the new competition – after Faf du Plessis' against Durban – and it was the fastest so far.

Capitals, who rested Adil Rashid and Anrich Nortje, never got close in reply and collapsed in a heap, subsiding to one of the heaviest defeats in franchise T20 history.

The new ball swung and deviated off the pitch more than in the first half of the game; Phil Salt pulled straight to deep square leg and Kusal Mendis top-edged a hook back to Junior Dala. Theunis de Bruyn (16), captaining Pretoria in the absence of the injured Wayne Parnell, chipped to mid-on as the run-chase imploded.

Rilee Rossouw (18) dragged on after briefly looking like he might take the game to Durban, before Colin Ingram (4) – Will Jacks' replacement at Pretoria – clothed a pull to give Dala his second caught-and-bowled of the night. Neesham (8) then miscued to mid-off and Pretorius' miserable outing was compounded when he ran himself out by not grounding his bat.

Durban picked up a bonus point victory, which was their minimum requirement coming into the game if they wanted to have any chance of reaching the playoffs. They can only wait and see now, with Super Giants needing Capitals to win convincingly over Paarl Royals in the last game of the round-robin phase in order to leapfrog Paarl and qualify for the playoffs in fourth place.