Potgieter takes 5 for 10 as MICT crush Sunrisers on opening night

The opening night of SA20 2025 saw a stunning performance from MI Cape Town, who crushed the two-time and defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 97 runs for a bonus-point win at Gqeberha. There were a couple of stars in MICT's dominating win but none shone as brightly as Delano Potgieter, who returned figures of 5 for 10 to bowl the holders out for just 77. His bowling performance came in the backdrop of a crucial 12-ball 25* that helped power MICT to a competitive 174 on a tricky surface.

MICT were asked to bat first and lost Reeza Hendricks to the fourth ball of the match. They'd crawled to 36 for 2 by the end of the PowerPlay, which soon became 42 for 3 as Richard Gleeson and Liam Dawson struck in quick succession. It was then that Dewald Brevis engineered a revival by stitching a 67-run stand with veteran Colin Ingram. The 39-year-old took a backseat as the young Brevis launched a terrific counterrattack, slamming as many as six sixes in his 29-ball 57.

Once that partnership was ended, MICT lost a couple of quick wickets but Potgieter arrived to provide the crucial flourish at the end in the company of George Linde (23*) with the pair adding 42 runs in just 21 balls to give the total significant heft.

Sunrisers' chase started on wobbly footing as PowerPlay specialist Trent Boult took a double-wicket maiden in just his second over for the franchise, sending back the English pair of Zak Crawley and Tom Abell. When Azmatullah Omarzai dismissed Jordan Hermann two balls later, the holders were down to 16 for 3 on a pitch that was nipping around and stopping on the batters.

Potgieter was introduced into the attack only in the second half, by when Sunrisers' chase was heading no where - they were 49 for 4 after 10 overs. He cleaned up Beyers Swanepoel with a yorker first ball and also added the wickets of South Africa internationals David Bedingham and Aiden Markram in the same dramatic over. He added the wickets of Liam Dawson and finished the game off by castling Gleeson with his 18th ball as Sunrisers folded with a full five overs to spare.

Brief scores: MI Cape Town 174/7 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 57, Delano Potgieter 25*; Richard Gleeson 2-22) beat Sunrisers Eastern Cape 77 in 15 overs (Delano Potgieter 5-10, Trent Boult 2-16) by 97 runs.