Cricket
Durban crowd treated to a night of records in SA20─── ILSE SMALBERGER 09:50 Thu, 08 Jan 2026
Shai Hope blasted the highest individual score of the SA20 before Lungi Ngidi claimed the League’s first-ever hat trick to power Pretoria Capitals (PR) to a 15-run victory over Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) at Kingsmead.
Hope struck Wednesday night (7/1) an unbeaten 118 off 69 balls, whacking nine sixes and nine boundaries, to steer the Capitals to 201/4. It was also a career-best for the West Indian.
DSG won the toss and elected to field first in heavily overcast conditions in Durban. Hope and his opening partner Connor Esterhuizen added 101 in eleven overs. Esterhuizen was dismissed on 37 (off 28 balls), but then Hope and countryman Roston Chase added another 85 runs off 44 balls.
Chase was on 24 in 15 balls when he was strategically retired him out with ten balls left in the innings, to bring in another West Indian, Sherfane Rutherford, who fell for a two-ball duck. Dewald Brevis hit two helpful sixes to propel PC to 201 in their 20 overs.
New opener
Super Giants’ chase began strongly with new opener Marques Ackerman’s 27 off 17 balls before Jos Buttler played a lone hand for the remainder of the innings.
The home side could simply not put together the partnerships with Gideon Peters, who was playing his first competitive match in nine months, claiming the back-to-back wickets of Heinrich Klaasen (16 off 17) and Evan Jones (out for a duck) to go with his earlier scalp of DSG captain Aiden Markram (16 off 11).
Lungi Ngidi. Photo: Facebook (Pretoria Capitals)
But a night of magic for the Capitals was not over quite yet. The Protea seam bowler managed another first ever for the competition – a hat-trick, taking the wickets of David Wiese (8 off 8), Sunil Narine and Gerald Coetzee (both out for a duck).
That left DSG with 18 to get off the last over, with an in-form Buttler at the crease. But Buttler was stranded on 97 not out with both Kwena Maphaka and Noor Ahmad run out in Chase’s last over.
After the match, Hope said the SA20 is a different beast, but he enjoyed finally making a contribution for his team.
The win propels PC to fourth on the log with 11 points.
Later today, Paarl Royals with travel to Johannesburg to take on second-placed Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers. The match starts at 17:30.
