Highest score in the SA20

Shai Hope broke the record for the highest score by an individual batter in the SA20. He smashed an unbeaten 118 for the Pretoria Capitals against Durban's Super Giants on Wednesday, and pipped Kyle Verreyne's 116 against MI Cape Town in 2024. Unlike Verreyne's knock that was in a losing cause, Hope's 69-ball blistering innings catapulted the Capitals to winning ways.

Three in three - Ngidi scripts history

The drama during the Pretoria Capitals and Durban's Super Giants game didn't just end with Hope's ton. During a tight chase of 202, Durban born Lungisane Ngidi broke Super Giants' hearts with the first ever hat-trick in SA20 history. Off the second ball in the 18th over, he outfoxed David Wiese with a slower ball that was miscued straight up in the air to Jordan Cox at long-on. Out came Sunil Narine and Ngidi immediately dished out a short-ball that was pulled straight to mid-on. The set Jos Buttler was at the other end and could only watch and pray as Gerald Coetzee walked out to bat. And then the moment came: the wily Ngidi bowled another slower ball but Coetzee was too early with the slog and the ball went to Dewald Brevis at deep mid-wicket and there it was! THE FIRST HAT-TRICK IN SA20 HISTORY.

Jos Buttler, who was on 74 at the time, tried all he could. He smashed Lizaad Williams in the 19th over for 22 runs to bring the equation down to 18 runs in the final over. But, in an attempt to keep the strike and got to 97 but he ran out of partners as the Capitals won a thrilling contest by 15 runs.

MICT double down on JSK

MI Cape Town finally got their first win on their sixth try of asking, and there was no better way for them to get their first points than against their arch-rivals Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 El Clasico. In a rain affected contest of just 12 overs, Faf du Plessis at 41, had the Newlands crowd mesmerized with some flashy strokes to take JSK to 123. The rain affected target was adjusted to 128 and MICT were dealt an early blow with man in form Ryan Rickelton departing early. But Nicholas Pooran and Jason Smith smashed sixes for fun, with the latter showing glimpses of why he was selected for the T20 World Cup next month.

Four days later, it was El Classico 2.0 at the Wanderers. And MICT's standout player Rickelton lit up the occasion with a wonderful 113 off 60 balls, He powered eight fours and nine sixes and was kept in good company by Rassie van der Dussen (65). The left-hander also became the only player to register two centuries in the SA20 with his first century coming in this season's opener (113 off 63) against DSG but ended in a losing cause. The two wins have given MICT a lifeline to make a late push for the playoffs in this year's SA20.

Weather continues to spoil the fun

Despite all the drama, the weather continued to have its fair say in the SA20. Durban's Super Giants were at the receiving end yet again, with their third game washed out due to rain in this tournament. This time against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape which has now put them at the bottom of the table. Elsewhere, in Johannesburg, the clash between the Joburg Super Kings and Paarl Royals was abandoned after inclement weather and lightning.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape continue to dominate

The two-time champions smashed Pretoria Capitals on Monday with a whopping 10-wicket win in Gqeberha. Jonny Bairstow (85*) and Quinton de Kock (79*) chased down the target of 177 with 5.4 overs to spare. They barely broke a sweat doing it. None of the Capitals' bowlers were spared with Lungi Ngidi the only bowler who conceded less than 10 runs an over. The South African-English duo hit six sixes each while Bairstow edged the boundary count by 8 to 5. Can anyone stop the Sunrisers Eastern Cape juggernaut?!

Crowds throng the stands to mark record attendances

The fourth edition of the SA20 has been met with great cheer by the fans. The league has recorded the most number of sold out matches in the first half of the tournament since the first season in 2023. Out of 17 completed matches that have been played, 14 matches were fully sold out which marks an increase of four games from Season 3. Meanwhile, there has also been a 22% increase in ticket sales in comparison to last season.