The home team were able to finish their innings but there was no opportunity for the visitors to chase the 188 target.
Bad weather had the final say once again in the SA20 competition this season when Thursday night’s season four match between the Joburg Super Kings and Paarl Royals in Johannesburg was abandoned halfway through.
In a bizarre day at the Wanderers, the match was first interrupted towards the end of JSK’s batting inning when one of the light towers went out, halting the match for a good 20 minutes.
Then, just as the Royals were about to come out and bat, after the light tower had been fixed and JSK had finished their innings, lightning stopped play. Rain would eventually also fall at the ground.
This was the fourth match this season, and the second for the Joburg Super Kings, to have a no-result because of bad weather.
With each team picking up two log points nothing much has changed on the table, with JSK still second behind Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Royals third. The Pretoria Capitals are fourth, Durban’s Super Giants fifth and MI Cape Town sixth.
Earlier when the skies were still blue and clear, the Royals had won the toss and elected to field first.
JSK took next to no time to get going, openers Faf du Plessis and James Vince hammering the ball to all parts of the ground. Du Plessis made a thrilling 39 off 24 before he was first man out, but then Matthew de Villiers (30 off 22) joined the Englishman and they, too, piled on the runs.
Wiaan Mulder (five) didn’t last long and then Vince was sent on his way as well for a well-played and excellent 75 off 43. He hit nine fours and three sixes.
Donovan Ferreira (nine) and Shubham Ranjane (seven) didn’t do much but Dian Forrester finished strongly with a quick-fire 15 off 8, while Akeal Hosein made five to help JSK post 187/6 in their 20 overs.
The only Royals bowler to make a big impact was Sikander Raza, whose spin netted him two wickets for 26 in four overs.
Both JSK (against MI Cape Town at the Wanderers) and the Royals (against the Pretoria Capitals in Paarl) are back in action on Saturday.
