Get Ball by Ball Commentary of Cape Town Blitz vs Tshwane Spartans, Mzansi Super League 2018, 1st Match

10.34pm That's all from us at ESPNcricinfo. Hope you enjoyed the inaugural MSL match from Cape Town. See you tomorrow for the contest between Stars and Giants. Till then, it's adios.

10.30pm Time for the presentation.

Mohammad Nawaz is the Man of the Match: "good pitch to bat on. Wanted to give myself time in the middle and then take the chances. New ball was swinging, but later on when the ball got older, it got easy. When AB was there, it was still nail-biting for us, but I'm really proud of my team and myself."

AB de Villiers: "Good time batting out there. Always love playing at Newlands, but credit to Dawid and Blitz. They adapted better to the conditions, but we'll get better. I won't say we batted poorly. We just didn't get the partnerships going. Nortje bowled really well for Blitz, but all their bowlers did well."

Dawid Malan: "Pleasing win. I thought the young guys played well. We were slightly in a sticky position, but the way they bowled was exceptional. I thought we used the conditions well. Piedt bowled well in the Powerplay, and early wickets gave us the leeway later on."

10.20pm A memorable victory for Cape Town Blitz. All their bowlers contributed in this victory, and the team walk back with smiles plastered on their face. This was a historic game, and the Blitz have ensured that they've turned out victorious in the tournament opener. While de Villiers was around, Spartans had a chance of a victory, but after the double-wicket over that also sent Rossouw back, it was all over for the team from Tshwane.

Verraynne: "Feeling good to get a good start. Great crowd at Newlands. As a youngster, it was good to bat with Mohammad Nawaz. Learnt from him and learnt about my game too. As a 21-year old, most kids are probably studying, but for me to play on TV, it's a dream come true."

19.3

Adams to Sipamla, OUT, all out! And what a smart way to finish the game. Full on middle, and the straight drive has been taken by the bowler! Blitz win by 49 runs!

L Sipamla c & b Adams 1 (3m 2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 50.00

19.2

Adams to Birch, 1 run, yorker on middle, and drilled back to long on for a walking single

19.1

Adams to Sipamla, 1 run, full just outside off, and defended to cover for a single

19.1

Adams to Sipamla, 1 wide, length ball on middle stump, but going down leg. Keeper appeals for lbw, but the umpire calls it a wide

END OF OVER:
19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 128/9 (53 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.73, RRR: 53.00)

Andrew Birch1 (3b)
Lutho Sipamla0 (0b)

Anrich Nortje4-0-21-1
Ferisco Adams3-1-25-2

18.6

Nortje to Birch, no run, back of a length on middle, and the back-foot pull doesn't get any bot. Through to the keeper once again

Karthik : "@Husnain,in that case verreynne also scored a half century and took a wicket(runout) for MoM"

18.5

Nortje to Mendis, OUT, full just outside off stump, and he clears his front leg to go over long on. But Mendis has toe-ended this shot, and deep midwicket runs across the boundary to comfortably take the catch

BMAJ Mendis c Smith b Nortje 1 (10m 8b 0x4 0x6) SR: 12.50

18.4

Nortje to Mendis, no run, back of a length on off, and going away from his body. Tries to cut over point, but misses. Superlative pace from Nortje

18.4

1nb

Nortje to Mendis, 1 no ball, full toss outside off stump, and he looks to cut this square. The ball's slipped out of his hand, and that's why the umpire calls it a no ball. Too high. Free hit

18.3

Nortje to Mendis, no run, full and wide outside off stump, and he tries to steer this towards third man. Misses the shot

18.2

Nortje to Birch, 1 run, short ball on middle, and he manages to connect with the pull. In the air for a while, but drops short of deep backward square

18.1

Nortje to Birch, no run, good length just outside off. Tries to pull, but the ball goes under his underarm and into the keeper

END OF OVER:
18 | 1 Run 1 Wkt | TS: 126/7 (55 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 27.50)

Jeevan Mendis1 (4b)

Ferisco Adams3-1-25-2
Malusi Siboto3-0-13-1

17.6

Adams to von Berg, OUT, von Berg's agony comes to an end! Lazy running, that's all it was. Full on middle, and he swings across the line to square leg. He's jogging to the other end, but the fielder at point throws the ball to the bowler, after which he flicks the cherry onto the non-striker's stumps

S von Berg run out 3 (17m 11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 27.27

17.5

Adams to von Berg, no run, another dot! Full on middle, but going just past leg stump as von Berg looks to send this over long on. The keeper appeals for caught-behind but the umpire ignores the shout

Husnain : "So Who do you think gets there MoM award, for me personally it's Muhammad Navaz, because he started the momentum for Cape town Blitz in the batting, scored a Half century, and also took a wicket!" -- Easy choice I'd say

17.4

Adams to von Berg, no run, full outside off stump, and another wild heave from von Berg. But again no connection off the bat

17.3

Adams to von Berg, no run, full outside off stump, and he looks to drive over cover. Misses the shot competely

17.2

1lb

Adams to Mendis, 1 leg bye, back of a length outside leg stump, and this slower ball deceives the tailender. Looks to pull behind square, but the ball hits his chest region

17.1

Adams to Mendis, no run, back of a length outside leg stump, and he looks to swing across the line. Bat's nowhere near the ball. The delivery rolls into the keeper's gloves

END OF OVER:
17 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 125/7 (56 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.35, RRR: 18.66)

Shaun von Berg3 (7b)
Jeevan Mendis1 (2b)

Malusi Siboto3-0-13-1
Mohammad Nawaz4-0-30-1

16.6

Siboto to von Berg, no run, back of a length on middle, but done in by the slower ball again. Looks to flat-bat towards the leg side, but misses the shot altogether

16.5

Siboto to Mendis, 1 run, full outside off, and he punches this square off the back foot to deep midwicket

16.4

Siboto to Mendis, no run, full on middle, and defended off the front foot

Blitz BOWLING	O	M	R	W	Econ
DL Piedt	3.0	0	15	1	5.00
A Nortje	4.0	0	21	1	5.25	(1nb)
MP Siboto	3.0	0	13	1	4.33
Mohammad Nawaz (3)	4.0	0	30	1	7.50
FD Adams	3.3	1	28	3	8.00	(1w)
GF Linde	2.0	0	21	1	10.50	(1w)

Wkt	Runs	Players
1st	5	GL Cloete	T de Zorzi
2nd	22	D Elgar	GL Cloete
3rd	43	AB de Villiers	D Elgar
4th	46	AB de Villiers	RR Rossouw
5th	0	R Frylinck	RR Rossouw
6th	4	R Frylinck	S von Berg
7th	4	RK Kleinveldt	S von Berg
8th	2	BMAJ Mendis	S von Berg
9th	2	BMAJ Mendis	ACR Birch
10th	3	ACR Birch	L Sipamla

Team	M	W	L	PT	NRR
PR	10	6	3	27	0.647
NMBG	10	6	3	27	0.496
TS	10	3	2	23	0.549
DH	10	3	2	22	0.182
CTB	10	4	5	19	-0.077
JS	10	0	7	6	-1.898

END OF OVER:
19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 128/9 (53 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.73, RRR: 53.00)

END OF OVER:
18 | 1 Run 1 Wkt | TS: 126/7 (55 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 27.50)

END OF OVER:
17 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 125/7 (56 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.35, RRR: 18.66)

Match Coverage

De Villiers' fifty in vain as Cape Town Blitz cruise to victory

Spartans 2nd innings Partnerships

Mzansi Super League

Spartans INNINGS		R	B
GL Cloete	caught	3	13
T de Zorzi	caught	4	6
D Elgar	caught	32	26
AB de Villiers	caught	59	30
RR Rossouw	bowled	15	13
R Frylinck	bowled	1	2
S von Berg	run out	3	11
RK Kleinveldt	run out	4	3
BMAJ Mendis	caught	1	8
ACR Birch	not out	2	4
L Sipamla	caught	1	2
EXTRAS	(lb 3, w 2, nb 1)
TOTAL	131 (all out; 19.3 ovs)

END OF OVER:19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 128/9 (53 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.73, RRR: 53.00)

END OF OVER:18 | 1 Run 1 Wkt | TS: 126/7 (55 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 27.50)

END OF OVER:17 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 125/7 (56 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.35, RRR: 18.66)

De Villiers' fifty in vain as Cape Town Blitz cruise to victory

END OF OVER:
19 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 128/9 (53 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 6.73, RRR: 53.00)

END OF OVER:
18 | 1 Run 1 Wkt | TS: 126/7 (55 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 7.00, RRR: 27.50)

END OF OVER:
17 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | TS: 125/7 (56 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 7.35, RRR: 18.66)