Durban’s Super Giants faced off against the Paarl Royals at Kingsmead in a showdown between the tournament’s top two teams. During the fourth over, with the Super Giants at 25-2, Bjorn Fortuin, delivering his left-arm spin from round the wicket, targeted Quinton de Kock.
Pitching the ball on off stump, de Kock attempted a slog sweep. Expecting a powerful connection, both de Kock and Paarl wicketkeeper Jos Buttler glanced towards the deep mid-wicket boundary, only to realize their misjudgment.
Rather than striking the ball cleanly, de Kock managed only to hit the toe end of the bat, resulting in a looping return catch to Fortuin. The unexpected turn of events left Fortuin visibly stunned as de Kock departed after a nine-ball six.
Despite Matthew Breetzke’s impressive 78 off 43 balls, Durban struggled to post a formidable total until Heinrich Klaasen’s rapid-fire 50 off just 17 balls propelled them to 208-7, with Tabraiz Shamsi returning figures of 2-20.
In reply, the Paarl Royals crumbled to 83 runs against Noor Ahmad’s impressive bowling figures of 5-11. Michael Van Buuren contributed 36 runs but couldn’t salvage the innings.
The victory earned Durban their fourth bonus point of the tournament, consolidating their position at the top of the table with 28 points, six ahead of Paarl’s 22.
A dismissal so bizarre, even the 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 😕#DSGvPR #Betway #SA20 #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/dw8NUTkYfm
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 28, 2024