New Proteas star Nandre Burger's brilliant spell of seam bowling helped World Sports Betting Western Province secure a thrilling two-run victory on the opening night of the 2023/24 CSA T20 Challenge.
The fast bowler only conceded 13 runs in his four-over spell as the Cape side defeated the Hollywoodbets Dolphins at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in Durban. Kyle Simmonds and Mihlali Mpongwana also delivered strong performances with the ball, contributing to the final outcome.
The first mentioned player took two wickets for 18 runs in four overs, while the latter, who was also selected for the national squad this season but has not yet played, took two wickets for 22 runs. Their efforts helped restrict the hosts to 146/7 while chasing a target of 149 on the east coast.
Additionally, both all-rounders played a crucial role in their team's first-innings score of 148/8 after winning the toss and electing to bat.
Mpongwana scored 22 runs and Simmonds scored 24. They were two of only three players to score more than 20 runs, along with top-scorer Jonathan Bird who scored 40. Their team narrowly won the match.
On the opening night, the Momentum Multiply Titans, defending champions, won impressively by beating Auto Investment North West Dragons with relative comfort by 13 runs in Centurion.
Batting first after losing the toss, the home side scored 169 for seven. Proteas T20 captain Aiden Markram top-scored with 40, followed by Rivaldo Moonsamy with 35 and Dewald Brevis with 29.
Migael Pretorius was the best bowler for the away side, taking three wickets for 18 runs.
Tabraiz Shamsi, a seasoned spinner from South Africa, replicated those figures for the Titans with support from Junior Dala (3/30) to keep the Dragons at bay on 158/8, giving the Centurion-based side a solid opening win. Raynard Van Tonder, another rookie Protea, was the top-scorer for NW as he struck 48 off 33 in a losing cause.
Meanwhile, recently crowned CSA 4-Day Series champions DP World Lions, had a confident top-order showing inspired by Ryan Rickelton's dashing 75 (39 balls, 6 fours, 5 sixes) up the road in Johannesburg. This gave the home side a big 43-run win over Gbets Rocks at DP World Wanderers Stadium.
The hosts scored 223/5 after batting first, with contributions from Reeza Hendricks (28), Temba Bavuma (26), Rassie van der Dussen (42*), and Wiaan Mulder (22*).
Janneman Malan (61 off 41 balls, 4 fours, 3 sixes) was the top scorer for the Paarl-based team. However, Kwena Maphaka, one of the country's brightest new talents, stole the show by taking three wickets for 22 runs. As a result, the Rocks were limited to 180/7.
During the recent ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2024 held in South Africa, the 17-year-old emerged as one of the top performers, finishing as the leading wicket-taker.