Duan Jansen's career-best triggers PC's collapse as JSK start with win

A career-best showing from Duan Jansen instigated a spectacular collapse from Pretoria Capitals (PC) as they fell from 71 for no loss to 89 for 5. Eventually, PC fell 22 runs short in their chase of 169 against Joburg Super Kings (JSK). This was also JSK's first ever win at SuperSport Park in Centurion in four seasons of the SA20.

Jansen picked up figures of 4 for 23 to help overcome an opening stand of 71 between Will Smeed (34 off 30 balls) and Bryce Parsons (41 off 30). The game seemed to be out of reach when the pair was going well, but the sudden collapse meant PC fell apart in the second half of their innings. So much so that with 42 runs required off the final two overs, the match was over well before the final ball was bowled.

Earlier in the day, Rilee Rossouw (48 from 33 deliveries) and Wiaan Mulder (43 off 28) had helped revive JSK's innings after the loss of two early wickets in the powerplay. The pace and bounce exerted by Tymal Mills and Codi Yusuf proved difficult to get away throughout, though PC's spinners proved expensive.

The pair fell midway through the innings, after which the JSK innings stalled. But some late hitting powered them to 168 for 6. This seemed a below-par total on a surface expected to get better for batting, and that certainly proved to be the case during PC's opening stand. But once Jansen got into the act, JSK never let go of their advantage.

There was some early show of aggression from JSK's young batter Matthew De Villiers, but the seam pair of Mills and Yusuf executed their plans to perfection to ensure the opening pair of de Villiers and Faf du Plessis did minimal damage.

On a surface that was showing some extra bounce early on, both Mills and Yusuf were happy to pepper that back-of-a-length area; du Plessis even copped a painful blow on his left forearm early on. It was the short stuff that therefore provided the breakthrough. De Villiers got a bottom edge on an attempted drive on the up - he expected the ball to bounce more than it did - through to the wicketkeeper, while du Plessis was surprised by the extra bounce as he top-edged a hook through to a leaping Daniel Smith behind the stumps.

It meant JSK were 16 for 2 midway through the fourth over, and finished the powerplay on 34 for 2.

Those early losses required a defiant response, and Rossouw and Mulder delivered that in spades. Having cautiously seen through the final two overs of the powerplay, they ensured 31 runs from overs six to ten with some calculated hitting. Then, once the pair got the measure of the bounce, they really upped the ante. The spinners bore the brunt of their wrath, as 37 runs were scored between the 11th and 13th overs.

Both Rossouw and Mulder, though, fell in quick succession. However, some powerful strikes from Akeal Hosein in the death overs saw the score propelled beyond the crucial 160 mark, with no team having successfully defended a total below 160 in Centurion.

When Smeed and Parsons were going strong, the conversation may have been along the lines of a possible bonus point for PC than any real possibility of defeat. But in the span of four overs, the complexion of the game shifted dramatically.

Hosein got the initial breakthrough for JSK, sliding one through Smeed, before Jansen took charge. Consistently hitting a back of a length with his tall frame, several batters struggled to get him away. By the time he took his fourth and final wicket, PC had slid to 114 for 7.

Alongside Jansen, the likes of Mulder, Richard Gleeson and Janco Smit provided able support. Each hit the deck hard and made boundaries hard to come by. As the required run rate soared, so did PC's desperation, and the innings gradually fell apart.