When it comes to giving a nod to form we cannot start without acknowledging that Durban’s Super Giants have clicked as a unit on top of having several standout performers.
Despite a generally wet summer in Durban, the weather has been much kinder to DSG in the second season and as a result, they have all the momentum heading towards the championship stage of the tournament.
DSG’s steadiest performer to date has been young Matthew Breetzke who has shown the value of consistently getting 30s or 40s from the top of the order as he has chipped away to be among the top scorers in the tournament.
Breetzke has played several high-impact knocks that go well beyond the raw numbers involved.
The incredible sum of his contributions may only come home to roost after the tournament but DSG owe much to that consistent platform.
Red hot doesn’t seem to be an appropriate descriptor for Heinrich Klaasen, because he will often find ways to top himself and have us all questioning if he has found his limit.
Few players can do the level of damage that Klaasen can in a short space of time.
Klaasen has given DSG the chance to turn 180s into 210+ scores that are nearly impossible to haul in without incredible firepower.
With the ball DSG can turn to their banker Keshav Maharaj to give them four good overs every single time.
Some smart buys have given DSG great variety in the spin department but Maharaj is the man who just keeps delivering.
Maharaj is the joint-top wicket taker for the log-leaders alongside English left-arm quick Reece Topley with both taking 11 in eight matches. Topley and Maharaj are the only real ever-presents in that DSG attack.
Any bowler looking to end with the best figures of the tournament will have to contend with the high bar set by DSG’s Noor Ahmad who ruthlessly cleaned up the Paarl Royals to take 5 for 11 and help propel his team clear at the top of the table.
Ahmad’s compatriot Naveen-ul-Haq has also shown himself to be a consummate professional who delivers consistency with the ball without being a flashy seamer.
DSG have so many players capable of turning a game that many of their stars simply fly under the radar.
Jon-Jon Smuts isn’t a player who should ever be written off when it comes to impacting T20s but he seems to have come from nowhere to become one of the key components of a DSG team threatening to run away with the SA20.
Will DSG manage to keep this roll going or will their multiple top performers slide away at the critical moment, time and the remaining SA20 matches will tell.
