Pooran, Paul struggle but Super Giants notch third win

DURBAN, South Africa (CMC):

The West Indies pair of Nicholas Pooran and Keemo Paul failed to shine but Durban Super Giants still marched to their third straight win with a convincing 37-run victory over Romario Shepherd’s Joburg Super Kings here yesterday.

Playing in the seventh game of the SA20 at Kingsmead, Super Giants posted 145 for eight off their 20 overs and then restricted Super Kings to 108 for nine, to remain one of only two unbeaten teams in the competition.

They top the standings with 13 points, five clear of Paarl Royals, with MI Cape Town third on five points – both teams having played one game less.

Choosing to bat first, Super Giants were powered by Man-of-the-Match Heinrich Klaasen, who punched a top score of 64 off 41 deliveries.

He counted seven fours and two sixes, adding 39 for the fifth wicket with Paul (17) and a further 38 for the sixth wicket with Pooran (15), to pull the innings around from peril at 34 for four at the start of the seventh over.

Shepherd proved ineffective with his pace, finishing with one for 40 from four overs, as South African seamer Lizaad Williams spearheaded the attack with four for 26.

In reply, opener Reeza Hendricks struck 38 off 32 balls and Englishman Moeen Ali, 36 off 28 balls, but Super Kings never recovered after slumping to 71 for six in the 15th over.

Shepherd fell in that cluster of wickets without scoring as England left-arm seamer Reece Topley (3-19), along with Keshav Maharaj (2-17) and Richard Gleeson (2-22), ripped the run chase apart.

On Sunday, West Indies left-arm pacer Obed McCoy proved himself when he defied a bout of cramps and held his nerve to bowl a tidy final over to formalise a 10-run win for Paarl Royals in their return match against Pretoria Capitals.

The 27-year-old Vincentian ended with one for 30 from his allotted four overs, but he was handed the task of bowling the final over with the Capitals requiring 14 to complete a successful run chase of 211 in front of a sold-out crowd at SuperSport Park.

McCoy, suffering from severe cramps, which required assistance from the Royals medical team after each delivery, showed great character to concede only three off the final two balls, delivering a mixture of slower balls and cutters that kept Capitals tailender Hardus Viljoen pinned to a single end.

The result meant that the Royals completed the season double against the Capitals after their 27-run win last Friday on home soil at Boland Park and fortify their hold on second in the standings.

South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi was named Player-of-the-Match after he ended with four for 39 from his allotted four overs for the Royals.

Ngidi set the tone with two wickets in the first over of the run chase when he removed England international Phil Salt and Theunis de Bruyn before returning in the closing stages of the match to claim a further two wickets and pave the way for the heroics from McCoy.

South Africa international Rilee Rossouw hit 82 off 45 balls, and England international Will Jacks supported with 58 off 34 balls to spearhead the Capitals’ chase with a partnership of 147 off only 77 balls for the third wicket to keep the match in the balance. Ngidi got Roussouw caught at deep midwicket in the 14th over, and Bjorn Fortuin bowled Jacks in the next over to spark a period of turbulence for the Capitals, and they lost five wickets for 36 in the span of 24 balls to undermine their chances.