Rickelton 113 in vain as DSG hang on in high-scoring thriller against MICT

The fourth edition of the SA20 kicked off with a thriller as MI Cape Town (MICT) began their title defence with a narrow loss to last year's bottom team Durban's Super Giants (DSG) in a run-fest. In front of a packed Newlands crowd, there were 449 runs scored in the game, the second-highest match aggregate in an SA20 game.

Asked to complete the highest successful chase of the tournament, MICT's charge was led by Ryan Rickelton, who was dropped from South Africa's T20I squad to face India, but recorded his highest T20 score. Rickelton's 113 came off 63 balls and included 11 sixes, the most in an SA20 innings, and has flung his name back into the T20 World Cup conversation.

Despite his efforts, DSG's inexperienced seamers held their nerve. Kwena Maphaka and Eathan Bosch defended 31 runs off the last two overs while MICT still had six wickets in hand. They lost 3 for 15 in the last two overs to ensure DSG's 232 for 7 was enough.

DSG's total was built on Devon Conway and Kane Williamson's 96-run partnership for the first wicket. Conway went on to score 64, before MICT clawed their way back. They took 3 for 41, before explosive stands of 32 off 19 balls between Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram, 34 off 18 between Markram and Evan Jones, and 29 in 10 balls between Jones and David Wiese saw DSG top 230.

In response, MICT lost Rassie van der Dussen at the end of the third over with the score at 22, and needed big hitters. Rickelton reached his highest score in the format and his second hundred to keep them in the hunt almost until the end. He shared a 60-run stand with Reeza Hendricks, before Jason Smith all but stole the show. Smith dominated a 76-run third-wicket stand with Rickelton, and the pair scored at a shade under 17 runs an over for the four-and-a-half overs they were together.

At one stage, MICT were ahead of where DSG had been. When Smith was dismissed, MICT needed 75 runs from the last six overs. By the time the last three overs came, they needed 49 runs. But MICT eventually fell 15 runs short.

There's talk of the NZ20 starting in January 2027, but you could argue that it had its soft launch here, at the SA20 in 2025. Williamson and Conway opened the batting for DSG, and Trent Boult had the new ball for MICT as season four kicked off. Though Boult caused problems, the batters had the best of the opening exchanges.

Boult delivered a peach of a first ball that beat Conway as it swung away, and then found Williamson's inside edge which went for four. But the batters soon hit their straps. In Boult's next over, Conway ramped him for four, and Williamson scythed one through point. The pair was 29 without loss after Boult's first spell, and posted 68 by the end of the powerplay. With excellent running and pinpoint placement, their stand grew to 96, with the partnership ending at two short of the DSG record.

It was Rashid Khan who was responsible for the first wicket, when Williamson hit Tristan Luus over mid-off. Rashid ran back, almost to long-off, and took the catch over his shoulder to claim what could already be the catch of the tournament. But that was as good as it got for the MICT captain. He went on to put down three chances, albeit not all of them easy, in what quickly became a day for him to forget in the field.

The first opportunity came when Markram, on 2, drove George Linde to Rashid at catching over but the latter seemed to lose the ball in the lights. In the next over, Klaasen, on 13, gave Rashid a chance in his follow through, but the ball hit his finger and he could not hold on. And then, at the start of the 17th over, Markram, who had moved to 16, got a leading edge off Boult, and Rashid charged in from mid-off but the ball hit his wrist and then his chest as he fell forward. Markram went on to plunder three boundaries off Corbin Bosch, and one off Linde, before he was eventually stumped for 35.

Rickelton started 2025 with a Test double hundred at Newlands, and three fifties in edition three of SA20 there, before losing his way as the year went on. He was dropped from South Africa's T20I squad on their recent tour of India, and finished the ODI series with successive ducks. But on Friday, Rickelton showed signs of a return to form, albeit in a losing cause and with some luck.

Rickelton's first shots in anger were his sixes off Simon Harmer, but his best was a late cut off Eathan Bosch that was all timing. He went on to send Eathan Bosch over the ropes for two sixes, and slog swept Noor Ahmed for one. Rickelton found the gaps on both sides of the field, and took advantage of anything even slightly over pitched to get to 49 off 30 balls. He could have been out then when Noor reviewed an lbw call, but survived on impact, which was umpire's call.

Rickelton went on to raise his bat to his 25th T20 half-century, and record his highest score in 26 innings since the last edition of the SA20. He also grew in confidence as his knock went on. He could have been out for 85 when he was caught off a no-ball from Maphaka, and went on to record his second century when he flat-batted Wiese over long-on for his tenth six. Rickelton should have been out off the next ball when he skied Wiese, but Eathan Bosch could not hold on. Rickelton finished on 113 when he hit Eathan Bosch to long-off.

Eyebrows were raised when Smith came in ahead of Nicholas Pooran. But by the time Smith had faced ten balls, he made sure people knew why. Smith raced to 32 in that time, with four fours and two sixes, and the pick of them was the hit off Maphaka in an over that cost the young left-armer 19 runs.

Smith picked the slower ball, and hit it against the wind over deep-backward square to underline his intent. He managed one more big strike, a six over deep point off Eathan Bosch, before hitting the next ball tamely to Markram at mid-off. Smith departed for a 14-ball 41, and announced himself as an alternate finisher for this MICT outfit.