The Mpumalanga Rhinos have claimed their first T20 win of the season, defeating the Eastern Storm in a mind-boggling encounter at Uplands on November 1.

Matches between the Rhinos and the Storm have typically been ones to watch in recent years. The Rhinos have been on the winning side more often than not in these matches, winning six of the 11 matches between the two since the advent of the new CSA franchise system in 2021/22.

They would end up relying on fate to once again shine kindly upon them at Uplands on Saturday, November 1, when they took on the Eastern Storm in their second game in the 2025/26 CSA T20 Knockout Competition.

The Rhinos won the toss and opted to bat first. This was a decision that did not pan out well for the home side as early wickets and sharp bowling from the Storm meant they were only 28-2 at the end of the powerplay.

Things didn’t necessarily improve for the Rhinos as the innings went on courtesy of a steady flow of wickets that prevented them from putting any decent partnerships together.

Zakir Kathrada’s 37 runs off 27 balls and Hermann Rolfes’ 31 off 26 were the only real shining lights in a rather dismal Rhinos batting innings that saw them restricted to 116/7 in 20 overs.

The Rhinos bowlers would have to pull out all the stops if they were going to hold off the Eastern Storm.

Early wickets for the Rhinos meant the Storm were 13/2, but the visitors quickly bounced back with two run-heavy overs to find themselves just short of halfway to the target come the end of the powerplay at 55/2, firmly in the driver’s seat. Some steadier and more disciplined Rhinos bowling in the middle phase of the innings stemmed the flow of runs for the Storm though.

The decisive moment in the match came in the 13th over when Bryn Brokensha was brought on to bowl as the Rhinos’ sixth bowler of the day. One of two T20 debutants playing for the Mpumalanga Rhinos on the day, Brokensha conceded only two runs in his first over.

The Storm reached the 100 mark in the 14th over. This meant they needed only 17 runs to win. With six overs remaining, they needed less than three runs an over with six wickets in hand. No sane person would have bet against the Storm in this position.

The 15th over saw momentum to firmly begin to shift in the Rhinos’ favour as Brokensha picked up two wickets in his second over, again conceding only two runs. This was enough to start making the men in the Storm dugout a little nervous. But with four wickets in hand, 15 to win and five overs left they were still favoured to win.

Rhinos veteran Jon Hinrichsen held up his end, showcasing brilliant death bowling to further restrict the Storm. Brokensha was a man possessed, picking up two wickets in his third over, but he did concede seven runs.
Three overs to play now, six runs to win for the Storm and two wickets to win for the Rhinos.

Hinrichsen bowled another great over before Brokensha returned for the penultimate over. A run came off the first ball before he completed his five-for, leaving the Storm suddenly nine wickets down needing one run to win. Brokensha couldn’t find his sixth before his brilliant spell came to an end, ending with figures of five wickets for 12 runs in four overs.

The responsibility of bowling the final over fell on the shoulders of Rolfes, whose only over of the day so far had gone for 15 runs. The first three balls of the over were dots. It was off the fourth ball that the Rhinos’ miracle comeback was completed as captain Muhammed Mayet ran out Tutelo Simelane with a direct hit at the non-striker’s end to dismiss the Storm with the scores tied.

This meant a super-over was required to determine the winner of the game. The Rhinos chose Hinrichsen to bowl the over and he was again sublime, conceding only five runs as the Storm lost their allotted two wickets.

All the Rhinos now had to do in order to pull off a miraculous victory was score six runs in their super over. A reverse paddle scoop from Zakir Kathrada off the third delivery sealed the deal and the Rhinos were victorious.

It marked the end of a match whose script couldn’t have been crafted better by the finest of Hollywood writers. This encounter will undoubtedly be one that’s remembered for a long, long time by the Mpumalanga Rhinos.