SA20 2023: Durban’s Super Giants vs Paarl Royals, Match 8 - Talking Points and Who Said What?

Durban’s Super Giants (DUR) relished back-to-back wins as they emerged victorious in the clash against Paarl Royals (PRL) by 27 runs in match eight of the ongoing SA20 league at the Kingsmead in Durban on Sunday, January 15. Opting to bat first, the hosts Super Giants put up a mammoth total of 216 runs for the loss of four wickets in their stipulated 20 overs of the contest. 

The Super Giants' batters were in full flow and made the most of the opportunity. Lungi Ngidi and Even Jones decided to put up a fight for Royals as they picked two wickets each but the damage had already been done by the rival side. 

In response, the visitors did not quite get the started they wished for as wickets kept tumbling in quick succession. Despite having the likes of high-profile batters such as Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and David Miller among others, Paarl struggled.

Eoin Morgan was the only batter who got going to a certain extent for Royals and seemed like a man on a mission to rescue his side in the run chase. However, Durban had already dented the rival batting unit by getting the breakthroughs due to which the visitors succumbed under pressure.

Talking Points from DUR vs PRL, SA20 Match 8:

Durban batters operate in tandem

As the Durban skipper Quinton de Kock opted to bat first, the top-order along with the middle-order fired in tandem to attain a massive total of 216 runs. Initially, Kyle Mayers and Wiaan Mulder put up a 62-run partnership before the former was dismissed for 39 runs. What followed was half-centuries from the skipper de Kock (57 runs) and Heinrich Klaasen (50*) to go with Mulder’s 42 runs which helped the side take complete control in the contest.

Eoin Morgan’s half-century goes in vain

In response to the run chase, Morgan put up a tough fight with the bat and scored a half-century to his name. He scored 64 runs off 37 balls at a strike rate of 172.97 which included five sixes and two boundaries. However, the game had already been taken away as the net run rate kept rising up which even Morgan was unable to keep up with in the chase and was eventually dismissed.

Losing Captain, David Miller said:

We thought it was going to be slow but it remained a good wicket. We were under the pressure in the PP (powerplay), but Morgs and Dane Vilas showed partnership is the key. Unfortunately, we lost a few too many wickets. We were off our plans today, and couldn't really stop them. Credit to them; they put us under pressure. It looked a really good wicket, and we were up for the fight. Morgs and Vilas showed a tough fight in the middle.

Winning Captain, Quinton de Kock said:

Quite happy about that result. Just the momentum from the batting, it was about keeping the pressure. We just kept at it. [Morgan-Vilas partnership] It was pretty comfortable. It was a sort of wicket where anything could happen. Dane was a bit unfortunate but he batted really well. [Morgan run out] The run out happened very quickly. It was a big turning point for us. Helped us calm down a bit. [The quick turnaround] It is exciting and tiring at the same point. We have to suck it up and carry on the momentum.

Player of the Match, Henrich Klaasen said:

We needed to back our batters and we did that well. [His fifty] It is the first time in a while I have done in Durban. Credit must go to Dwaine, he knows my game, kept me calm and gave me the right options that I pulled off. It is lovely (the crowd). We haven't seen so many people in Kingsmead for a while.

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store