
The Durban Super Giants look to get back to winning ways when they welcome the winless Sunrisers Eastern Cape to Hollywoodbets Kingsmead on Friday evening. Jonhenry Wilson previews.
SA20 – Game 11
Durban Super Giants v Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Friday 17 January 2025 – 17:30
Hollywoodbets Kingsmead, Durban
In recent times the side batting first at Kingsmead has had the edge. As was the case on Tuesday in the game between the Super Giants and the Super Kings, it was the side that won the toss who batted first and went on to win. That has been the case in 47.4% of the recent T20 games at the venue, with 10.5% of games ending with no result and 42.1% going the way of the side batting second.
To Win Match
Super Giants 67/100 | Tie 25/1 | Sunrsiers 5/4
Super Giants Look to Bounce Back In Spin-Friendly Conditions
The Durban Super Giants will be eager to bounce back from Tuesday night’s defeat when they go again against the defending champions on Friday.
The Kingsmead pitch is a useful one for the Spinners and DSG have plenty of quality in this area in their side. Nine of the 17 wickets that fell in the game against the Joburg Super Kings on Tuesday went to the spinners – only problem for DSG was that their spinners had slightly less success than their counterparts from the highveld.
De Kock Back On Song, Klaasen Struggling
DSG will be delighted that Quinton de Kock appears to have found form. As much as it was in a losing cause he looked excellent as wickets tumbled around him. His knock of 55 from 45 was a mature one – he couldn’t afford to throw caution to the wind, but he ensured that his side were always going at close to the required run rate.
Heinrich Klaasen has failed to live up to expectation thus far in the tournament, but he looked very good for the short time he was at the wicket. Coming in at six he scored 29 from 17 as he shared in a 48-run stand with De Kock. He was caught off an edge down the legside – an unlucky dismissal in anyone’s books – had he been able to stay around a bit longer the game may well have gone an entirely different way.
Sunrisers In Trouble
The Sunrisers are in a spot of bother now, without a win from their first three games in the tournament. It is far from a hopeless position with seven games still to play, but they will have to find a way to win soon if they are hoping to resurrect their season.
The problem with a tournament like SA20 is the speed at which the games keep happening. There is almost no time to reflect and adapt, you just must get back on the horse and ride again and hope that you can execute your plans better the next time around.
Putting It All Together
Winning in T20 is about partnerships and combinations and thus far the Sunrisers have not been able to produce these. While there have been some good individual performances along the way like Marco Jansen’s 51 against the Capitals, Aiden Markram’s 82 against the Paarl Royals or Richard Gleeson’s two for 22 against MI Cape Town, these have all been in isolation. They need more contributions.
Slow Starts Hampering SEC
A key part of winning in T20 is about the quality of the start you get to your innings. In their three games so far, SEC have been 16 for three, 39 for two and four for three. While the 39 for two against Paarl Royals doesn’t sound too bad, by way of context Paarl made it to 132 before they lost their first (and only) wicket on a belter of a pitch.
Protea’s batsman David Bedingham is struggling. In three games he has played two innings and made a total of two runs. Pushed up the order to open against the Capitals he went early as Aiden Markram’s side were in trouble from the outset.
Zak Crawley also failed again in Tuesday’s game against the Pretoria Capitals. From three appearances in the tournament thus far he has managed just 40 runs – with the highest score of 27. The England opener tends to be a go-big or-go-home type batsman. So far, he hasn’t asserted himself at the top of the order like he would have wanted to.
It looked like an inspired move to promote David Bedingham up the order for the game against the Capitals, but the experiment didn’t work. It will be interesting to see if they give it another try. What the Sunrisers really need now is a good platform at the start of the innings that they can build around. Four for three against Pretoria was always going to be a tough position to recover from.
Sunrisers Attack Not Suited To Kingsmead Surface?
Kingsmead is a venue where spin has been very successful in recent times. Unfortunately for them SEC are not as blessed in this department as some of the other sides in the competition. Simon Harmer is a very good bowler, but he is recognized more as a red ball expert than a white ball wizard. Aiden Markram can turn his arm, but he is not in the league of Keshav Maharaj or Prenelan Subrayen. It might be time for them to turn to Dutchman Roelof van der Merwe. While he can be expensive at times, he is unconventional, combative and effective – his six for 20 in 2023 is still the best return by a bowler in SA20 history.
Verdict: Durban Super Giants 67/100
Things must come right for SEC at some point, but not this game. Expect the home team’s spinners to be the difference.
