South African all-rounder Delano Potgieter enjoyed an impressive start to the SA20 2025 for MI Cape Town (MICT) against defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) on Thursday. The 28-year-old scored career-best figures of 5-10 and had a special outing with the bat that belonged to Virat Kohli, smashing an unbeaten 25 off 12 balls in a resounding 97-run win.
Batting first in the opening game of the new season at Gqeberha, MICT scored 174/7 in 20 overs after Dewald Brevis scored an excellent 57 off 29 balls and several batsmen chipped in with over 20 scores.
Mumbai Indians’ Cape Town star Delano Potgieter sports Virat Kohli’s bat
Among them was Potgieter, who was presented with the special bat given to him by his MICT captain Rashid Khan, who was gifted the willow by Kohli himself. The all-rounder hit two boundaries and a six in his cameo at the end of the innings.
Also Read: Discarded Mumbai Indians player revives reputation ahead of IPL 2025 When asked if the bat belonged to “a certain player” in the post-match press conference, Potgieter said he was not sure who it belonged to. . “I’m not sure who the bat belonged to, but I’d love to know if it belongs to them.”
SA20 2025 starts with a one-sided game
Chasing the total did not look difficult for the champions, but New Zealand pacer Trent Boult bowled a sensational double-wicket maiden in the third over while dismissing opener Zak Crawley and Tom Abell. It set the tone for the rest of the innings as Potgieter went over the lineup that began with the return of SEC captain Aiden Markram on the 19th.
The pacer was easily the pick of the MICT bowlers as Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai and South Africa’s George Linde took a wicket each. Rashid was wicketless in his three overs but managed to account for Marco Jansen’s dismissal.
SEC conceded just 77 runs in 15 overs as they began their title defense on a sour note. They will look to bounce back when they take on Paarl Royals in their second game in Paarl on Saturday. MICT will look to maintain their confidence from opening day when they play Joburg Super Kings in Johannesburg on Saturday.
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