After a clinical seven-wicket win over Joburg Super Kings in a SA20 match, MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan said that his team has the best bowling unit in the tournament, which makes his job easier.
Chasing a below-par target of 106, MI CT cruised home inside 16.3 overs in their third league game on Saturday night. With this, MI CT picked up four crucial points and jumped to the top of the table with 9 points.
After their bowlers put up a disciplined show, openers Dewald Brevis (42) and Ryan Rickleton (21) shared a stand of 65 to lay the foundation of a big win for their team and the remaining batters then made quick work of the run chase. Brevis` no-look 99-meter six against Aaron Phangiso was the highlight of MI CT`s run chase.
MI CT assessed the pitch to perfection and included spinner Waqar Salamkheil in the playing eleven. Salamkheil (1/19) made an instant impact as he controlled the game brilliantly in the middle overs along with captain Rashid (2/18).
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Other MI CT bowlers George Linde (2/25) and Kagiso Rabada (2/12) were lethal upfront with the ball and kept the pressure on. West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith also made his debut for MICT in the game and contributed by picking up two vital wickets.
Rabada — who was playing his first game of the tournament — returned with the player of the match award.
Credit for the win also went to the MICT captain as he marshalled his bowlers brilliantly after electing to bowl first and together they bowled 65 dot balls. The team management showed faith in the youngsters and they didn`t disappoint.
Praising his Afghan teammate and other bowlers for their clinical show, Rashid said, “We have played together in a Test match for Afghanistan, he (Waqar) has done well in the past and has the ability, he`s ready to go and do well, (I am) happy for him. He had control in the middle overs. Linde, the way he bowled in the batting powerplay was superb, he and KG set the platform for us.”
Backing MI CT as the best bowling line-up in the tournament, the skipper said,” I think we have the best bowling unit, so many options and it makes a captain`s task harder. We also have depth in the batting line-up, we saw it in the last game.”
Linde, who set the tone for MI CT in the powerplay, also backed what the skipper said claiming his side is full of superstars and a potent spin attack.
“I think it was the right decision from the coaching staff to go with three spinners in this game as the pitch was getting slower. If you look at our team, we`ve got three good spinners. We have a very good team full of match winners. We are pretty confident in the team as well and we`ve got (plenty of) superstars,” the left-arm orthodox spinner said in the post-match press conference.
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