Roelofsen, Stone fight hard, but we fall short

MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan claimed his team will come back strongly in the next SA20 game after losing to Durban Super Giants by 5 wickets on Friday (January 13).

Reflecting on his team's performance at the Newlands, the captain vowed his team will not repeat the mistakes it committed in their next game, which is less than 24 hours away. 

“We played good cricket in the last part of the first innings to put up that score. It was a matter of those 20-25 runs and that would have made the difference. The way the guys bowled and came back was a positive for us. Coming back tomorrow and we will hopefully not make the mistakes we did today,” the Afghanistan cricketer said at the post-match presentation.

MICT will face Faf du Plessis-led Joburg Super Kings on Saturday (January 14) at the packed Newlands.

MI Cape Town South Africa talent put in some good performances. wicketkeeper-batter Grant Roelofsen, George Linde and Delano Potgieter showcased their big-hitting prowess and took MICT to 152/8. Roelofsen (52 off 44) steadied the innings, while Linde (35 off 25, 4x Sixes) and Potgieter (25 off 11, 3x Sixes) took Super Giants bowlers on in the death overs. 

Defending the target, pacer Olly Stone (4/23) raised his stocks further in the tournament with his fiery bowling. The Englishman's effort in the middle overs denied the opposition the bonus point.

Praising Stone's performance in the game, Rashid said, “Whenever he (Stone) has been given an opportunity, he has stepped up. So good to have him and he has been amazing for us.”

Roelofsen – who smashed a sublime 44-ball 52 and showed a lot of maturity in his knock – while speaking at the post-match press conference also agreed with his captain's views and claimed there is no need to panic and his team will learn from the mistakes tonight.

“We'll just try and stick to the game plan (against JSK). There's no need to panic. We did well in the first game and there were a lot of positives in this game as well. We bowled well at the back end of the game today, we batted well and even fielded well. So tomorrow, we just need to stick to the process and stay calm,” the 26-year-old said.

Lauding the packed stands and positive vibes at Newlands, he said, “The crowd at Newlands is wonderful. I've not played a lot of cricket here but this is such a picturesque stadium. Packed stands give you a different vibe altogether. We could feel the home support which is great and hopefully, fans will keep turning out in big numbers in the remaining games as well.