DSG hold their nerve to seal final-over thriller against SEC

With a two-wicket win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape, the champions, in Gqeberha on Sunday, Durban's Super Giants maintained their hopes of making the SA20 2025-26 playoffs. After a late burst from SEC, DSG set a goal of 159 and got off to a fast start before losing the plot in the middle. The tail, on the other hand, was able to keep their composure and produce a thrilling victory, their first since the start of the season, and keep their campaign alive with two more games to go. A late flourish helped SEC recover after losing wickets at regular intervals for the better part of their innings. In an effort to combat the new-ball attack, Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow both fell cheaply after choosing to bat first. At 26/2, Matthew Breetzke (20 off 22) and Jordan Hermann (29 off 24) came together for a brief 38-run stand in 6.5 overs to steer the ship in the right direction. However, neither of them was able to capitalize on their starts, resulting in a brief slump of 3 for 23, during which both the set batters and Marco Jansen attempted too many aggressive shots upfront. Lewis Gregory and skipper Tristan Stubbs then worked together to stabilize the innings once more. Before unleashing at the backend, the pair took their time getting used to each other. SEC passed the 150-run mark thanks to Stubbs, who turned it around in the final three overs, going from 11 off 18 to a 47* in just 30 balls. In the final 18 outs of their innings, 53 came, giving the team some momentum as they finished. That was quickly undone by the DSG openers' quick opening stand of 49 runs in just four overs. Before Senuran Muthusamy made a timely incision, Aiden Markram (25 off 13) and Marques Ackerman (45 off 26) each hit half a dozen boundaries, setting the tone for the chase. Ackerman had company in Jos Buttler after Markram left, who contributed a run-a-ball 22 on a wicket that wasn't easy to score on. After a brief stutter, DSG lost four wickets for 36 runs in five overs, causing panic in their dugout. That included Heinrich Klaasen's uncharacteristically poor second innings and the wickets of the set batters.