SA20 2023, JSK vs SEC: Du Plessis, Simmonds take Joburg Super Kings to semi-finals
Faf du Plessis scored 92 runs (Source: Screengrab/Twitter/@JSKSA20)
Virtue of a Faf du Plessis special, Joburg Super Kings trumped Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 24 runs in the 27th match of SA20 2023.
Du Plessis held the Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowlers by the scruff of their necks as with his 61-ball 92 he took Joburg to a fighting total all by himself.
While Reeza Hendricks contributed 40 runs in the partnership of 119 with the Super Kings skipper, he batted at the strike-rate of nearly 110 as du Plessis had to do the hard job alone.
With Hendricks' wicket in the 15th over, Joburg's innings crashed down. The side skittled from 119/0 to 152/6, eventually finishing at the score of 160.
For the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Sisanda Magala and Aiden Markram took two wickets apiece.
Sunrisers bow down to Joburg's bowlers
Asked to chase 161 runs, the Eastern Cape found an unlikely hero in the form of Temba Bavuma, whose half-century kept the team in the game.
However, after the Proteas white-ball captain led a rearguard fightback, scoring a 34-ball 50, reviving Sunrisers, who were three down in a blink of an eye, his dismissal proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
While there was still a lot of batting left for Markram and Co., no one raised their hands as Kyle Simmonds, Maheesh Theekshana and Gerald Coetzee caused destruction.
Brief scores:
Joburg Super Kings - 160/6 (20)
Faf du Plessis 92 (61), Reeza Hendricks 40 (36);
Aiden Markram 2-7 (1), Sisanda Magala 2-24 (4)
Sunrisers Eastern Cape - 136/9 (20)
Temba Bavuma 50 (34), Aiden Markram 34 (30);
Kyle Simmonds 3-23 (4), Gerald Coetzee 2-13 (2)
Joburg Super Kings won by 24 runs.
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