5 best bowling performances in SA20 2024 ft. Marco Jansen
The second edition of SA 20 ended with a bang on February 10, 2024, with Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) winning their second successive title. A strong SEC outfit demolished Durban's Super Giants (DSG) by 89 runs in the final.
South African pacer Marco Jansen ended as the top-wicket taker of the tournament with 20 wickets under his belt. Notably, he picked up five wickets in the final against Durban.
On that note, here is a look at the five best bowling performances in SA20 2024:
#1 Marco Jansen (5/30 against Durban's Super Giants)
Marco Jansen was brilliant in the final of SA20 2024 at the Newlands, Cape Town. His spell of 5-30 from four overs ensured that SEC won the tournament decider by a huge margin of 89 runs.
Batting first, SEC put on a big total of 204-3 in 20 overs. A target of 205 was a stiff one and Jansen was at his brutal best with the ball. He picked up wickets of JJ Smuts and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in his opening spell. He then went on to dismiss Keshav Maharaj, Junior Dala and Reece Topley.
#2 Noor Ahmad (5/11 against Paarl Royals)
Afghanistan star Noor Ahmad had the Parl Royals batters in a spinning web in a league match on January 28.
Batting first, DSG scored 208 in their allotted 20 overs. Ahmad thereafter got into his groove and picked up five wickets, conceding just 11 runs in 20 balls. His victims included David Miller (caught by JJ Smuts), Andile Phehlukwayo (caught and bowled), Bjorn Fortuin (caught by Matthew Breetzke), Obed McCoy (leg before wicket) and Tabraiz Shamsi (leg before wicket).
#3 Junior Dala- (5/26 against Pretoria Capitals)
Junior Dala was one of the three bowlers to pick up a five-wicket haul in SA 20 2024. He achieved this feat against Pretoria Capitals on January 30, 2024.
Batting first, DSG scored 174. A target of 175 was chasable on a good batting wicket at the Kingsmead in Durban. But Dala, who was the sixth bowler used by DSG, picked up five wickets to guide his team to a win by eight runs.
Will Jacks was his first victim, who was clean-bowled by the 34-year-old pacer. Colin Ackermann's wicket followed and was also clean-bowled by Dala. Rilee Rossouw, Wayne Parnell, and Eathan Bosch were his other three victims.
#4 Ottniel Baartman (4/10 against DSG)
Ottniel Baartman picked up four wickets in four overs, including a maiden over in Qualifier 1 of SA20 2024.
Batting first at Newlands in Cape Town, SEC scored 157 runs in 20 overs. DSG were bundled out for 106, courtesy of a fiery bowling spell by pacer Ottneil Baartman.
He picked up the wickets of Matthew Breetzke and JJ Smuts in the space of four balls in the fourth over of the run-chase.
Baartman was equally dangerous in the death overs and picked up the wickets of Heinrich Klassen and Naveen ul Haq. He bowled at an exceptional economy rate of 2.5 across four overs and was named Player of the Match for his match-winning spell.
#5 Marco Jansen (4-16 against DSG)
Apart from picking up five wickets in the final against DSG, Jansen picked up four wickets in Qualifier 1 against the same opponent.
He combined with Baartman as the duo picked up eight wickets between them. Tony de Zozri was Jansen's first wicket of the evening. Thereafter, in the 18th over of the innings, he picked up the wickets of Keshav Maharaj and Dwaine Pretorius.
He also picked up the final wicket of Junior Dala and ensured that his team reached the final of SA20 2024.