Published: Nov 18, 2018, 11:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 18, 2018, 11:48 PM (IST)
After losing the their first match in the tournament opener, AB de Villiers-led Tshwane Spartans overcame Paarl Rocks in a run feast at the Boland Park, Paarl on Sunday claiming a one-run victory in a match where both teams scored over 200 runs in the Mzansi Super League 2018.
After being put in to the bat, Spartans, who had lost their first game to Cape Town Blitz were off to a good start with openers Gihahn Cloete and Theunis de Bruyn scoring 101 runs for the opening wicket in 10 overs. De Bruyn was the first to go claimed by Dwayne Bravo for 66 off 38 deliveries.
Cloete found support in skipper De Villiers, who scored 32 off 18 and combined with the opener for a stand of 77 runs for the second wicket. But he too was snuffed out by Bravo.
Paarl Rocks finished strong restricting Spartans in the final two overs with Rilee Rossouw (0) and Dean Elgar (9) departing cheaply. Cloete was the last man to fall for 80 as Spartans ended with 203/5.
In reply, opener Cameron Delport led the Charge for Paarl with a 43-ball 73-run knock, with handy contributions from the batting unit. Michael Klinger departed for 14 while skipper Henry Davids could only add 12. Vaughn van Jaarsveld scored 22, Dwayne Bravo made 14 and Grant Thomson added 15.
It came down to 30 runs off 12 balls and wicketkeeper batsman Mangaliso Mosehle got two fours and six off the 19th over bowled by the experienced Rory Kleinveldt. However, despite the equation – 13 off 6 – favouring the batting team, Spartans Andrew Birch managed to defend the 11 of those runs to hand his team a tense victory. Elgar saved a certain boundary off the third ball of the over in the deep, and that proved to be the decisive moment of the match.
Brief Scores: Tshwane Spartans 203/5 (Gihahn Cloete 80, Theunis de Bruyn 66; Dwayne Bravo 3/31) beat Paarl Rocks 202/6 (Cameron Delport 73, Vaughn van Jaarsveld 22; Jeevan Mendis 2/35) by one run
