MI Cape Town eventually stumbled their way to a three-wicket win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Newlands on Friday night, but the scrappy nature of the chase summed up a campaign that continues to flatter to deceive for the defending champions, Cape town Etc reports.
What should have been a relatively routine run chase turned tense despite late contributions from Kieron Pollard and George Linde. Pollard, drafted into the side as a replacement for Rashid Khan, briefly threatened to make the finish comfortable when he struck 20 off just 14 deliveries, only for MI Cape Town to lose their way again and limp over the line with four balls remaining. The decisive moment came via an expensive no-ball from spinner Senuran Muthusamy in the final over, underlining just how messy the contest became.
The hosts entered the match knowing that only a bonus-point win would keep their slim play-off hopes alive, but those ambitions faded quickly. Openers Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen both fell cheaply, dismissed for 11 and 8 respectively, while attempting to force early momentum. From there, the priority shifted from chasing big to simply surviving the chase.
