Quinton De Kock Delivers Huge Win for Blitz
Quinton de Kock managed to obtain his fourth century during the T20 clash against the Tshwane Spartans in a game that could only produce two other batsmen that accumulated a score of over 30. Thanks to the amazing performance delivered by de Kock, the Cape Town Blitz team managed to win the game which means they are now 6 points against of the Nelson Mandela Giants in the T20 standings. On the other hand, the Tshwane Spartans suffered their 4th loss in a total of 6 games, leaving them to wonder how on earth they managed to lose by a mere 60 runs when they had Cape Town for 101 for 8.
The Devastating Pitch
The pitch bothered both Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock early on in the game due to its two-paced nature which managed to cripple the batsmen after the two openers who managed nearly 10 per over during the 83-run stand. The leg breaks that were introduced by Jeevan Mendis provided the necessary dismissal the Spartans were looking for. Shortly thereafter, Andile Phehlukwayo was bowled out by Corbin Bosch followed by two quick wickets by Sean Williams. And it didn’t stop there either. Batsman managed to fall quite rapidly against spin and pace with the pitch offering a dramatic change as the game continued. In fact, in just five overs, Cape Town collapsed to 8 for 18.
Quinton de Kock’s Performance
De Kock seemed quite encouraged when Lutho Sipamla made his return, accumulating 16 runs from only four balls during the 6th over of the innings. During the 15th innings, De Kock smashed the ball for a four and a six off consecutive balls, giving him loads of momentum for the next over, dismantling the first four balls from Mendis with a six as well as three boundaries. After two overs, the Blitz managed to improve their score of 101 for 8 to a remarkable 133 for 8. De Kock managed to make 19 runs from 5 balls, and it didn’t take him long to get his century during the 18th over.
Spartans’ Performance
De Kock finally fell during the 19th over with an impressive score of 158 runs. After this incredible performance, the Spartans were under the impression that it would be easy to make the necessary runs as De Kock surely proved it. However, this certainly wasn’t the case. Both Dean Elgar and Gihahn Cloete had a difficult time as the two openers, only finding a few boundaries due to edges. It was so bad that the third batsman wasn’t able to find a boundary from 17 deliveries and the striking rate for the Spartans at the halfway stage was a mere 7 per over. The Spartans had no way to cover from this as de Villagers was also bowled out shortly thereafter. There wasn’t much else for the Spartans to do after having six overs with no boundaries during the 8th innings.