The SA20 2025 action in South Africa started just as what fans had expected out of it. The initial two matches were absolute nail-biters. While MI Cape Town defeated Sunrisers Eastern Cape convincingly in the opening encounter, the second match turned out to be an intense rivalry between Durban Super Giants and Pretoria Capitals.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz steals the show after a turbulent start
Batting first after winning the toss in the second game of the tournament, Durban Super Giants had put a mammoth total of 209 runs in their 20 overs on their home soil. With a huge target and job to do, the Pretoria Capitals’ opening pair of Will Jacks and Rahmanullah Gurbaz began the run-chase.
Initially, both openers had a shaky start to their respective innings. Jacks was the first to put his offensive gear on hammering boundaries and sixes on every opportunity. During the 5th over, it was Gurbaz who decided to take matters into his hands. Gurbaz seemed a bit uncomfortable against Super Giants bowling line-up before that over. However, this time he stunned the Durban crowd with two remarkable clean hits into the stands against Chris Woakes.
The first six was a clean hit on the on-side, it was the first delivery of Woakes’ second over and Gurbaz astonished the English pacer with his remarkable footwork to smash a maximum in an emphatic manner. The six sailed in the air for 89 metres before reaching the stands. On the very next delivery, Gurbaz punished a full-length delivery by creating some space for himself and hitting the ball straight for another maximum. This time the ball travelled for 84 metres before reaching another part of the stands in Kingsmead.
Also Read: Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s heroics in vain as Durban Super Giants pip Pretoria Capitals in a thriller at SA20 2025
Here’s the video
The Afghan batting tornado is wreaking havoc in Durban! 🌪️#PretoriaCapitals opener #RahmanullahGurbaz is showing his might on his #SA20 debut! ✨
Keep watching the action LIVE on Disney + Hotstar, Star Sports 2 & Sports18-2 #DSGvPC pic.twitter.com/7FqfpylQDn
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 10, 2025
A heroic knock from Gurbaz proved short in the end
The two maximums greatly lifted the spirits of the Afghan opening batter. Gurbaz and Jacks created a strong base for Capitals and had a partnership of 154 runs between them. Gurbaz contributed 89 runs for his team off 43 balls with 3 boundaries and 7 sixes. The floodgates of dismissals for capitals opened after Gurbaz was sent back to the pavilion by Noor Ahmed in the 13th over of the match. The entire Capitals middle order crashed like a pack of cards which ultimately paved the way for a Super Giants victory by a narrow margin of 2 runs.
Also Read: Delano Potgieter wreaks havoc as MI Cape Town crush Sunrisers Eastern Cape in SA20 2025 opener
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