Faf du Plessis, Texas Super Kings Captain: It's tricky because obviously we're playing on different surfaces, so if you look at the night games so far, the wicket has been a little bit more uneven contest. Yes, it does get on a little bit more towards the night, but definitely today we felt it was a little bit slower in the first innings. But once again, you've got to just make sure you communicate really well out there. I thought we were close in that middle period when Riley was batting with Mulder there. You could tell that the partnership was getting close to getting us in a position to score 170, 175, and then it's a good score. Yeah, I think today was just a point of being more clinical with the bat. It's always a case of when someone gets in, how does he make that contribution bigger? Thirties are generally not going to get you across the line. So even on a surface like that, we had the opportunity today for the batters. One guy just kept going and got 70-plus
Texas Super Kings were short of a competitive score and needed someone to go big, but nobody could carry through to the end. A late onslaught, along with absence of a fiery powerplay, meant their bowlers had a tough task on their hands. Peter Siddle picked up three crucial wickets and Matthew Short bowled a very economical spell. Ghulam Mudassar was superb with the new ball, while Hassan Khan also kept it tight, so the bowlers produced a very disciplined performance. Thereon, Lhuan-dre Pretorius anchored the chase and remained unbeaten on 69. Such class at a young age; he has a great head on his shoulders and is a delight to watch, with shots all around the park. It was a pitch-perfect knock. Matthew Short and Connor Esterhuizen added vital contributions, and then Sanjay Krishnamurthi played the situation judiciously as the team won comfortably with 2.1 overs to spare.
END OF OVER:17 | 6 Runs | SF: 143/3 (10 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 8.41, RRR: 3.33)
- Sanjay Krishnamurthi10 (8b)
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius68 (54b)
- Wiaan Mulder4-0-29-0
- Mohammad Mohsin2-0-14-0
END OF OVER:16 | 11 Runs | SF: 137/3 (16 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 8.56, RRR: 4.00)
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius66 (52b)
- Sanjay Krishnamurthi6 (4b)
- Mohammad Mohsin2-0-14-0
- Hardus Viljoen3-0-33-1