SA20: A look at first week of action from South Africa's domestic T20 league

Johannesburg [South Africa], January 18 : It has been a week since the inaugural edition of the SA20, the domestic T20 league of South Africa started. The first week of the league has witnessed plenty of exciting knocks, fiery bowling spells and some thrilling finishes.
A look at the matches during the first week of the league.
January 10
- Paarl Royals vs MI Cape Town
The league started with two of the most star-studded teams locking horns. Put to bat first, Paarl scored 142/7 in their 20 overs. Half-century from Jos Buttler (51) and an entertaining 42 off 31 balls by skipper David Miller helped the side reach this modest total. Jofra Archer (3/27) marked his return to competitive cricket after months with a fiery spell. Chasing 143, young South African batting sensation Dewald Brevis smashed 70 off 41 balls with four boundaries and five sixes and had a match-winning 90-run stand with Ryan Rickelton (42 off 33 balls).
January 11
-Joburg Super Kings vs Durban Super Giants
The second day saw a high-scoring match between these two sides. Batting first, Joburg was down at 27/4 in the powerplay, but knocks from Donovan Ferreira (82* off 40 balls) and Romario Shepherd (40 off 19 balls) powered the side to 190/6 in 20 overs. Prenelan Subrayen (2/26) was the pick of the bowlers for Durban. Durban fell 16 runs short of the target, despite openers Kyle Mayers (39 off 29 balls) and skipper Quinton de Kock (78 off 52 balls) laying down a big opening stand of 98 runs. Alzarri Joseph (2/30) impressed for Joburg with the ball while Donovan also picked up a wicket, earning a 'Man of the Match' award.
January 12
-Pretoria Capitals vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Put to bat first, an explosive knock from Phil Salt (77 off 43 balls) along with cameos from James Neesham (37 off 28 balls) and skipper Wayne Parnell (29* off nine balls) powered Pretoria to 193/6 in their 20 overs. However, despite heroic knocks from JJ Smuts (66 off 51 balls) and Tom Fuller (40 off 24 balls), Sunrisers fell 23 runs short of the target, finishing at 170/5. Anrich Nortje (2/18) shined for Pretoria with the ball.
January 13
- Paarl Royals vs Joburg Super Kings
In this match, Joburg was skittled out for just 81 runs, with Bjorn Fortuin (3/16), Evan Jones (3/21) being the pick of the bowlers for Paarl. Paarl faced some hiccups in this small chase, but Jos Buttler (29*) stayed till the end to take his side to a win.
January 14
-Pretoria Capitals vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Put to bat first by Sunrisers, Pretoria came out all guns blazing, led from the front by Will Jacks (92 off 46 balls), Theunis de Bruyn (42 off 23 balls) and scored 216/6 in their 20 overs. SEC did not show much power-hitting in their batting, except for skipper Aiden Markram (46 off 29 balls) and Marco Jansen (36 off 20 balls). SEC could score only 179/7, with skipper Wayne Parnell (2/20) and Adil Rashid (2/46) delivering fine spells for Pretoria.
-Joburg Super Kings vs MI Cape Town
The most high-profile match of the league did not really offer much fireworks. Rashid Khan, Odean Smith and Kagiso Rabada took two wickets each to restrict Joburg to 105/9, with Leus du Plooy top scoring with 21 runs. Brevis once again impressed in MI's pursuit of 106 runs, scoring a quickfire 42 off 34 balls, guiding his team to a seven-wicket win.
January 15
-Durban's Super Giants vs Paarl Royals
Batting first, Durban put on an exhibition of T20 batting, smashing 216/4 in 20 overs. Kyle Mayers (39 off 23 balls) and skipper Quinton de Kock (57 off 31 balls) impressed, but it was Heinrich Klassen who delivered the most fireworks with his 19-ball 50*, consisting of a four and six sixes. Lungi Ngidi (2/33) was the pick of the bowlers for Paarl. Paarl fell 27 runs short of the target, despite great hitting from England stars Eoin Morgan (64 off 37 balls) and Jason Roy (33 off 23 balls) and Dane Vilas (44 off 30 balls). Reece Topley (3/34) and recently-retired South African player Dwaine Pretorius (2/34) proved to be too good for Paarl to handle.
January 16
-MI Cape Town vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
MI Cape Town could score only 158/8 in their 20 overs after being put to bat first, with knocks from George Linde (63 off 28 balls) and Rassie van der Dussen (29) coming in handy. Ottniel Baartman (3/45) and skipper Aiden Markram (2/8) were among the best bowlers for SEC. Chasing 159, SEC faced some hiccups but South Africa's international trio of Markram (50), Sarel Erwee (41) and Tristan Stubbs (30) helped the side secure a win by four wickets.