Joburg Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis shared his disappointment after they suffered a 14-run loss against defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the ongoing SA20 at St George’s Park, Gqeberha on Friday.
After SEC captain Aiden Markram decided to bat first, the reigning champions posted a par score of 165 runs on the board after a collective batting effort.
On the other hand, Devon Conway top-scored with 43 runs but the rest of the JSK batters could not convert their starts into substantial scores. Faf scored 27 runs off 18 balls with the help of five fours but he was dismissed by Marco Jansen.
Faf du Plessis said in the post-match presentation, “They have a strong batting line-up. I thought it was a par score. There was a bit of movement up front. We started well but lost wickets. It is a quality bowling unit. There was a period when Conway and Leus were batting well, but once that partnership was broken the pressure was back on us. These guys have done really well at home, we did the same last year and hopefully we do it this year.”
Meanwhile, Jansen was awarded Player of the Match for returning with impressive figures of 2-19 in his quota of four overs. The lanky pacer accounted for Faf du Plessis and Jonny Bairstow in his fine spell.
Jansen said after the game, “There is no better crowd in the country especially when you are winning. I didn’t pull the trigger to be honest, I got singles and gave the strike to Stubbs. Gleeson has good pace, swings the ball and we bowled nice lines, nice lengths and reaped the rewards for it. Today’s wicket we felt bowling hard length would work – some would skid on, some would stop on the batter. We take each game as it comes.”
Joburg Super Kings will once again take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Sunday at the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg.
