Sourav Ganguly’s first match as a head coach ended in a loss as the Pretoria Capitals imploded against the Jo’burg Super Kings in the SA20 on Saturday, December 27. Ganguly, who replaced Jonathan Trott at the helm, saw his side get beaten by 22 runs as the JSK bowlers delivered a masterclass performance.
Ganguly had made a big impression on the auction table with the Capitals ahead of the season as they bagged the likes of Dewald Brevis and Keshav Maharaj. However, the performance on the day was not up to the mark as Brevis dismissed for six runs and Maharaj went wicketless.
Rilee Rossouw’s 48 and Wiaan Mulder’s 43 helped the Super Kings to post a modest 168 for six in their 20 overs at the SuperSport Park, which is known to be a chasing wicket. A late cameo from Akeal Hosein, who scored 22 off 10 balls got JSK to the total and they went in with good momentum.
The Capitals started the chase in fine fashion, scoring 48 off the powerplay overs with Will Smeed and Bryce Parsons putting on a 71-run stand for the first wicket. However, things started to unravel once Smeed was dismissed in the ninth over.
Wickets started to tumble for the home side as they were reduced to 89 for five by the 13th over as Duan Jansen wreaked havoc on the batting lineup. The twin brother of Marco Jansen picked up the wickets of Parsons, Shai Hope, Connor Estherhuizen and Daniel Smith to end with figures of four for 23 in his four overs.
After Smith was dismissed by Jansen, Richard Gleeson ensured took care of the lower order and ended with figures of two for 33. Apart from four batters, none of the others went past the double-digit mark for the Capitals in the opening game of SA20 season for Ganguly’s side.
The Capitals finished fifth on the points table last time around and will be hoping to bounce back quickly when they face two-time champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Monday, December 29 away from home.
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