The SPL T20 Winter Knockout Tournament started on Sunday at the Springs Old Boys Cricket Club in Pollak Park.
There were two games on the day, with Middelburg going up against Johannesburg in the morning match and T&B Brothers Vasravi facing Patel Sports Yusuf in the afternoon.
Although the weather on Sunday morning was cooler than usual, that didn’t stop the teams from playing.
Middelburg won the toss and opted to bat first, putting up a score of 132 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 10 wickets.
Ashraf Kadu and Akram Raza were Middelburg’s top scorers, with runs of 34 and 30 respectively.
In response, Johannesburg downed the score set by Middelburg in just 12 and a half overs for the loss of three wickets.
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Performing well with the bat for Johannesburg was Faisal Abdulhameed with the top score of 56 runs. He was well supported by Sameer Painter with 39 runs.
The top bowler was Safi Lakdawala from Johannesburg, with four wickets in four overs for just 17 runs.
Johannesburg won by seven wickets.
In the second game of the day, T&B Brothers Vasravi batted first and put up an impressive score of 198 runs in 20 overs for the loss of five wickets.
Leading batsmen for T&B Brothers Vasravi were Arsad Badat with 65 runs, Faizal Bemat posting 41 runs and Nabeel Ahmed with 35 runs.
Patel Sports Yusuf struggled to chase down 198 and ended the day with 71 runs for the loss of 10 wickets.
The top bowler was Hari Kumar, from T&B Brothers Vasravi, with three wickets in two overs for just 11 runs.
T&B brothers Vasravi won by 127 runs and will be the team to beat in the coming weeks.
Organiser Javid Patel said they are happy with how the tournament started.
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“The pitch was a bowler’s haven in the morning when it was a bit colder, but when the sun came out in the afternoon, the pitch was suited to the batsmen.
“Everybody who came brought positive vibes, and we tried our best to make sure everything ran smoothly,” said Patel.
This Sunday, Springs A will go up against Maq in the 9.30am match.
The second game will be Imtiyaz Turkey up against Nelspruit in the afternoon match which will start at 1pm.
All the matches will be played on the A field at the Springs Old Cricket Club.
The tournament is free for spectators and there will be food stalls, entertainment, security and parking.
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