That's it from our live coverage of this SA20 game between MICT and SEC. This is Mohammad Anab signing off on behalf of my colleagues Manan Mehta, Saptak Sanyal, Deepak Prakash and Yogesh Kumar. Cheers.
Corbin Bosch (POTM): "Yeah much better than what I have gone so far in the tournament. But I was happy to put up a performance when the team really needed it.
I think we assessed the conditions nice and early. Kagiso came to me and said that there is something in the wicket. Try to hit the wicket nice and hard and let it do the talking. Happy I could up a performance.
Yeah, it was the best we have bowled as a bowling partnership in this tournament. It was due but I am happy it happened. Really happy that everyone hit their mark.
It would be incredible to make it to the playoffs. As I said the competition has not gone as planned. However, if we get a sniff, I believe a lot of teams might fear us. Good luck to Pretoria tomorrow."
Player of the Match: Corbin Bosch
Nicholas Pooran (MI Cape Town Captain): "(On fighting to stay in the playoffs race) First of all, I’m going to tell you this: this franchise has never really been out of the tournament until the last game, and today the guys really came out and answered the call. It didn’t finish the way we wanted it to finish, but that’s four points, which is really important for us.
(On the match getting close in the end) I mean, that’s T20 cricket for you. I feel like T20 is very contagious — winning and losing — and we have been losing a lot of games. We just keep finding ourselves in situations where, from good positions, we kind of mess ourselves up. Tonight, we were able to get over the line, but again, it’s been a tough season for us so far.
(On Trent Boult and Corbin Bosch) Yeah, again, quality bowlers. It’s just a matter of time for them to come to the party. I felt like Boult started the tournament well for us, getting that wicket in the first over there, and then KG came in and bowled really quickly as well. And then Bosch came and bowled really nicely there at the death. But the spinners were really important for us. We had good conversations with them, and they answered the call. They bowled wicket to wicket, we blocked that single, that gap in the wickets, and they were excellent.
(On Kieron Pollard) Yeah, I mean, you know, he’s played this game more than every single person, so you understand what’s required. And it’s really nice to see he’s come to this franchise and to this game, and he still loves what he’s doing.
(On facing the SEC again in last league game) Yeah, definitely. Again, we need a couple of results to go in our favour as well, but it’s the last game for us in the group stage and we want to — you know — hopefully play our best game."
Dispatch of the Day: Marco Jansen
Most Dot Balls of the Match: Marco Jansen
Game Changer of the Match: George Linde
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
Tristan Stubbs (Sunrisers Eastern Cape Captain): "Yeah we probably did not adapt quickly enough with the bat. We could not put up a decent score and yeah that was the difference. I don't think we assessed the conditions quickly enough. It was challenging.
In the team we always talk about the value of one run. Unfortunately, it has not gone our way today. Yeah, the last game is very important. Last home game at St George's. 3:30 PM game. We obviously want to end well and take some good momentum into the playoffs.
Yeah, I don't know the match, but I am sure a result like today keeps the tournament alive. For us it is just about focusing on each and every game."
12:40 AM IST, 9:10 PM Local Time: MICT have won the game by three wickets in the final over. The game turned into a thriller in the final few overs of the second innings. With this, MICT have registered their third win of the season and they are still in the race for the playoffs.
MI Cape Town tightened their grip on the SA20 encounter against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Newlands after a strong bowling performance restricted the visitors to a below-par total. Batting first, Sunrisers Eastern Cape were off to a horrible start as they lost their opener Quinton de Kock (0) on the first ball of the match. The side continued losing wickets at regular intervals.
Some hitting in the second half of the innings by Marco Jansen, who made 42 off 23 balls, and a useful knock by James Coles (28), helped Sunrisers post a total of 139/9 at the end of the 20 overs.
MI Cape Town’s bowlers were outstanding in their execution. Corbin Bosch led the attack with four wickets, while Trent Boult claimed three, repeatedly breaking partnerships and keeping the scoring rate under control.
In response, MICT also lost some early wickets. Later, Nicholas Pooran came in and he also perished quickly after smashing a few sixes. Reeza Hendricks and George Linde had a decent partnership for the fourth wicket. Linde played a quickfire knock of 31 from 18 balls. However, it was Hendricks who played the role of a sheet anchor and went on to make 41 off 43 balls before getting out in the penultimate over.
In the end, the side managed to win by three wickets. The chase should have been easy but MICT made it difficult for themselves by losing wickets at the back-end of the innings.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen were the pick of the bowlers as both of them took two wickets each.
MICT have registered their third win of the season while Sunrisers Eastern Cape have recorded their third loss. Both of them have one more league game left. However, Eastern Cape have now qualified for the playoffs.