MSL 2019, CTB vs NMBG: Marco Marais, Chris Morris' finishing act power Giants to the top of the table
Chris Morris’ winning hit summed up a gripping contest in the Mzansi Super League 2019 as the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants sealed a five-wicket win against the Cape Town Blitz that saw the former grab the top spot on the points table.
With six runs to get from five deliveries, Morris swung his bat towards deep midwicket and although George Linde put in a stunning dive, he couldn’t hold on to the chance as the ball landed on the boundary line and it took a good five minutes for the umpire to signal six runs.
Unheralded young batter Marco Marais made an unbeaten 40* off mere 20 deliveries and his partnership with Morris was the talking point at the end of the match. Chasing a daunting target of 187, the Giants found themselves in troubled waters as they lost both their openers with just three runs on the scoresheet.
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Things took a turn for the better for the chasing side with JT Smuts riding his luck as he received three lifelines en route to a match-winning knock of a 51-ball 73. The skipper's knock was laced with eight boundaries and two maximums, but the momentum shift between the sides was a constant feature.
Veteran pacer Dale Steyn scalped a couple of wickets while Wahab Riaz varied his pace to good effect, but in the end, the Blitz failed to defend a competitive total.
Earlier, the first 45 minutes of the day’s play was dominated by the Cape Town outfit. Skipper Quinton De Kock won the toss and straight away took the attack to the opposition. Opener Janneman Malan struck two boundaries in the very first over of the game and repeated the act in the following over.
de Kock, on the other hand, went a step ahead and hit two sixes off Chris Morris’ second over to get his side to a flying start. The opening act fetched 72 runs and it was Imran Tahir who brought an end to the threatening stand by removing Malan in the 7th over.
Blitz skipper de Kock perished soon after as the Giants made a comeback. On the back of a good foundation from the top three batsmen, the Blitz put up 100-2 from 9.3 overs, setting the stage for some fireworks in the last few overs.
No.3 batsman Marques Ackerman looked promising, playing some lusty strokes in front of the wicket but his adventure was short-lived as a cheeky effort ended up costing his wicket. Liam Livingstone and Asif Ali joined the party in no time as the side looked set to cross the 200 run-mark.
Pacer Junior Dala leaked 33 runs in 10 deliveries as the Blitz kept playing innovative shots. Dala conceded 18 runs in his first over and gave away 21 runs from his second over. A waist-high no-ball didn’t help matters either but the 29-year-old pulled things back to bag two late wickets.
Dala's pace bowling partner Chris Morris responded to the carnage in a much better manner and turned the game on its head by targetting a fine channel throughout the game. He went for 33 runs in his four overs but inflicted two late strikes in the death overs, including one wicket while giving away just 2 runs from the 17th over.
However, despite the staggering start, de Kock’s men faltered towards the end as the Blitz scored just 34 runs and lost five wickets from the last five overs that cost them the match in the end.
Brief Scores
Nelson Mandela Bay Giants 187/5 in 19.2 Overs (Smuts 73; Steyn 2/39) beat Cape Town Blitz 186/9 in 20 Overs (De Kock 39; Morris 2/33) by five wickets.