Klaasen guides Durban Super Giants into first SA20 final
DSG debutant, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, also made a solid contribution in his first outing in the competition with 35 off 23 balls.
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LONDON: Heinrich Klaasen blasted Durban's Super Giants into their first-ever SA20 final as the Super Giants comfortably beat Joburg Super Kings by 69 runs in Qualifier 2 at the Wanderers. Klaasen smashed 74 off just 30 balls (3x4, 7x6) to power DSG to 211/6. The Proteas superstar was well supported by Wiaan Mulder, who struck an equally rapid unbeaten 50 off just 23 balls (3x3, 3x6).
DSG debutant, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, also made a solid contribution in his first outing in the competition with 35 off 23 balls. The Super Kings had done well to reduce DSG to 94/4 after 12.1 overs with left-arm seamer Nandre Burger (2/27) delivering a fiery spell upfront.
But that's when Klaasen and Mulder began their work as they added a mammoth 101 runs in just 38 balls for the fifth wicket to take the game away from the Super Kings. The JSK run chase was always going to be dependent on their captain Faf du Plessis, but once he departed early after being caught by Quinton de Kock, who took a good catch running back to the boundary, the home team's mountain became so much steeper.
It was a valiant effort after they had won their Eliminator just 24 hours earlier to give themselves the opportunity to qualify for the final. Moeen Ali (30), Reeza Hendricks (27) and Donovan Ferreira (24) all struck cameos for the Super Kings, but nobody could match Klaasen's sheer brute force of earlier in the day.
Klaasen is now second on the Betway SA20 leading run-scorers list with 447 runs and needs 84 runs in Saturday's final to overtake MI Cape Town's Ryan Rickelton at the top of the leaderboard. The DSG bowlers backed up their batters' pyrotechnics with a complete performance in the field and with the ball.
Junior Dala led the way again with 4/38, with Naveen (2/27) and Dwaine Pretorius (2/17) providing good support. The catching was also out of the top drawer, highlighted by Naveen-ul-Haq's two-handed spectacular grab at mid-off.
The Super Giants travelled up to Johannesburg for Qualifier 2 after losing to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Newlands on Tuesday evening in Qualifier 1. They will now return to Cape Town for the final in a rematch with the Sunrisers at Newlands on Saturday.