That brings our double-header coverage to a close, marking the final SA20 match of 2025 (and maybe the last cricket game of the year too!). We truly appreciate you staying with us and tuning in throughout the year; it has been a wonderful experience! We look forward to bringing you even more live action and exclusive news throughout the coming year. See you all in 2026! On behalf of Chetan Kumar and the rest of the team at ESPNcricinfo, it is time for us to head into the night. This is Rashad Mahbub, signing off from the ball-by-ball commentary hot seat. Adios. Sayonara. Shubho Biday. Ciao. Baai-baai!
Player of the Match, Sherfane Rutherford: "First of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity. This is a beautiful place to be and a great tournament. What was important for me tonight was my process. No matter the scenario, I know it's vital to do the basics and get myself in. I have the confidence that once I'm set, I can always make up for it at the end. [When to start hitting the ball] It depends on the overs remaining. Tonight, I had five overs left when I came in, so I told myself that even if I took six or seven balls to settle, we could still capitalize in the final stretch. We weren't necessarily expecting to get 92 in the last five overs, but it really went well for us! [Conversation with Brevis out there] We've played together before and have a good relationship. The conversation was just about reacting to the ball. We knew they were going to try to manipulate us with the field, so we focused on keeping our shape and hitting wherever the ball traveled. [Bowling] I definitely didn't plan on bowling when I came to this tournament. I never even thought about it! The coach told me he saw some potential for me to give him an over or two, so I guess they saw something in me that I didn't see in myself. [Difficult win and gust experience] Definitely not. It's very tough when the ball goes high because it just keeps swirling, and you aren't sure which position to take. It's certainly something to work on, but luckily we are leaving here with the points."
Keshav Maharaj: "We started off really well but then fell a little bit behind the eight ball. However, we always knew that the platform Wihan Lubbe and Shai Hope provided in the middle would set things up nicely for Dewald Brevis and Sherfane Rutherford to show what they are all about. It was some phenomenal, clean hitting that you don't often see. Kudos must go to that middle order for how they went about their business. We had a great experience out there with Shai Hope. He marshaled the innings well alongside Vihan, who also has a lot of experience. They played out some balls, took it deep, and punished the bad deliveries. Like I said, it set the stage for Brevis and Sherfane to come in and do what they do best. When Shai got out, I asked him in the changing room what he thought a winning score would be. He said if we could get to 180 or a little bit more, we'd be in the hunt. Fortunately, we got quite a bit beyond that! It was some truly amazing ball striking from Sherfane at the end. [First win of the season] It's really nice. After two disappointing losses where it felt like we only played half a game well, seeing a clinical performance like this is very encouraging. Hopefully, we can carry this momentum into our two home games at SuperSport Park next week."
Rashid Khan: "[What went wrong tonight?] I think we started really well as a bowling unit, but for the second game in a row, we gave away too many runs at the death, around 60 in the final overs. When you look at it, there is a massive difference between chasing 180 or 190 and chasing 220. I feel that's where we let the game slip away. Even so, the way we started with the bat showed we were in it, but we made small mistakes while trying to close out the game that we need to think about. On this ground, you have to switch between attacking and defensive modes quickly. In T20, the game changes in five or ten minutes. I try to hold back my main, experienced bowlers for the end to finish the job, but when we got early wickets, we needed to attack the new batters by hitting the right areas consistently. We didn't do that well enough to keep them under pressure. On these wickets, you only need a few balls to settle in before you start finding the gaps. Shai Hope and Wihan Lubbe built a platform that allowed their finishers to come in and do their job. [Better to bat first?] We did well last year, both chasing and setting totals. It's not really about whether we bat or bowl first; it's about our discipline as a team. That is the word I'd use, especially for the bowling unit. We've been missing that execution in the last two games. It comes down to following the plan and hitting the right areas. Hopefully, we learn from this quickly and come back stronger."
Topspin: "Disappointed in MICT's performance. It always seems to me like Reeza and vd Dussen always adds extra pressure for whoever their batting partner is. MICT should seriously consider their batting line up for next season. Their bench doesn't offer much backup in batting either. "
Shadow-Shell: "No prizes for guessing the Player of the Match, i guess" Not tonight!
8:59 pm A complete mid-innings capitulation saw MI Cape Town crumble from a promising 100/3 to being bundled out for just 135. The chase actually began with plenty of fireworks. Ryan Rickelton enjoyed a charmed life early on, being dropped by Rutherford at mid-on when he was on 12, and surviving another chance later in the Powerplay. The explosive 60-run opening partnership finally ended when the Capitals made it third time lucky, safely pouching Rickelton at deep square leg for 33. Sitting at 63/1 after the Powerplay, Cape Town looked in control, even after Parsons dropped a sitter off Rassie van der Dussen in the 7th over. However, Parsons immediately redeemed himself in the very next over, coming on to bowl and dismissing Van der Dussen. Nicholas Pooran then arrived with a bang, smashing back to back sixes off Keshav Maharaj to bring up the team's 100 in just 8.2 overs. But the momentum vanished as quickly as it arrived. Pooran fell after a blistering 25 off just 6 balls, triggering a disastrous collapse. Wickets fell in clusters as the Cape Town batters lost their way under the pressure of the massive target. Sherfane Rutherford was the star with the ball, bagging four wickets, while Maharaj finished with three scalps. While MI Cape Town's search for their first win continues, the Capitals will be the ones celebrating with fireworks under the New Year's Eve sky tonight.
Pretoria Capitals won by 85 runs