Rickelton century powers MI Cape Town to second win

Ryan Rickelton struck his second hundred of the season to set up MI Cape Town's second win of the campaign as they completed a double over the Joburg Super Kings with a 36-run victory. Rickelton remained unbeaten on 113 off 60 deliveries and put on a blistering 129-run opening stand with Rassie van der Dussen (65 off 32) to power MICT to a formidable 234 for 3. Kagiso Rabada and George Linde then struck at key moments to stall the chase, leaving JSK well short at 198 for 5. The win took MICT to the fifth spot, pushing Durban's Super Giants down the table.

MICT produced a dominant batting display after opting to bat, piling up the highest total of the season on the back of a blistering opening stand between Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen. The tone was set immediately as 20 runs came off the first over, and the pair never let up, repeatedly cashing in on wayward bowling from JSK. Boundaries flowed freely in the PowerPlay and beyond, with both batters bringing up their half-centuries around the halfway stage as MICT raced to 128 without loss in 10 overs.

Van der Dussen had a slice of luck as the third umpire deemed James Vince had made contact with the cushion when he took a brilliant boundary-line catch. His innings eventually ended when he holed out in the deep off Daniel Worrall. Rickelton continued positively taking MICT to 150 in 12 overs but JSK slowed things down a bit with a few quiet overs and the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Jason Smith.

Rickelton, however, powered the innings superbly, regaining momentum in the last three overs. The late assault included a 22-run 18th over by Nandre Burger as Rickelton hit two fours and two sixes to race to a 54-ball hundred and take the team past 200. The 19th over, bowled by Wiaan Mulder, also yielded 22 as Karim Janat struck a maximum and Rickelton hit two maximums, taking the opener's tally to nine sixes along with eight fours. A six for Janat off Burger helped MICT finish with a flourish, with 55 runs coming off the final three overs.

Chasing an imposing target, JSK were immediately on the back foot as Kagiso Rabada ripped through the top order with pace and hostility. The absence of Faf du Plessis only compounded their troubles, and despite Vince finding his range early with a flurry of boundaries, wickets kept tumbling at the other end. JSK slumped to 35 for 3 inside five overs, Rabada striking twice and George Linde chipping in to leave the chase wobbling. Vince continued to bat fluently, lifting the tempo, but the asking rate climbed steadily as JSK moved to 89/3 at the halfway stage.

The game drifted away from JSK when Linde deceived him with extra bounce to remove the well-set Vince for 77. Dian Forrester ensured JSK had something to show for the chase. Displaying composure and clean hitting, he brought up a fine half-century and powered on to an unbeaten 80 off 42 balls, striking Rabada and Corbin Bosch for late sixes to drag JSK close to 200, ensuring that his knock at least denied MICT a bonus-point win.

Brief scores: MI Cape Town 234/3 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 113*, Rassie van der Dussen 65; Daniel Worrall 2-37, Donovan Ferreira 1-31) beat Joburg Super Kings 198/5 in 20 overs (Dian Forrester 80*, James Vince 77; George Linde 2-30, Kagiso Rabada 2-34) by 36 runs.