Franchise Cricket

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Sam Harper continued his brilliant Big Bash season as he guided Melbourne Stars to an eight-wicket win against Melbourne Renegades.

The 29-year-old made an unbeaten 81 to get Stars to their target of 167 with 25 balls to spare.

He hit eight fours and four sixes in his 51-ball knock and returned to the top of the run-scorers chart with 356, at an average of 89.

He put on 89 for the first wicket with Tom Rogers and then shared an unbroken 78 with Glenn Maxwell (20* off 12).

Earlier, Renegades posted 166-7 from their 20 overs with opener Josh Brown making 80 off 50 balls.

No other batter made it past 23 though and that left Renegades short of a competitive total.

Marcus Stoinis was the pick of the Stars bowlers, picking up 3-33, while Pakistan's Haris Rauf claimed 2-31.

The win sees Stars consolidate second place, while Renegades are seventh, two points off the play-offs.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Usman Khawaja made 78 to set up Brisbane Heat's comfortable seven-wicket win and eliminate Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 181, Khawaja, who retired from Australia duty after their 4-1 win over England in the Ashes, hit seven fours and three sixes in his 48-ball knock at the top of the order.

He shared 57 in 23 balls with Jack Wildermuth (39) for the first wicket and 26 with Nathan McSweeney but the key partnership came with Matt Renshaw, someone who may benefit from Khawaja's international retirement.

The pair put on 93 in 56 balls to break the back of the chase, with Khawaja dismissed with five required.

Max Bryant came to the crease and hit first ball for six to seal the win with 22 balls to spare.

Thunder, who are are rooted to the bottom of the table with one win in eight games, posted 180-6, with David Warner continuing his recent good form with 82 off 56 balls.

He was run out in bizarre fashion in the 16th over, with Marnus Labuschagne dropping Sam Billings initially, before McSweeney's throw saw Warner dismissed at the striker's end despite a full-length dive.

Heat are fifth in the table, but have the same points as second, third and fourth approaching the final week of group games.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk clubbed 20 off Nat Sciver-Brunt's final four balls to secure a stunning three-wicket win for Royal Challengers Benglauru over Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League opener.

Chasing 155, RCB's chances looked slim as they fell to 65-5 in the eighth over and then 121-7 after 17.

They left them needing 34 off 18 balls and that was only reduced to 29 off the final two overs.

The penultimate over went 11 to leave 18 required and De Klerk, who was well set, ensured the 2024 champions started with a win.

England captain Sciver-Brunt started with successive dot balls before De Klerk hit a six, four and six off the next three balls.

It left RCB needing two off the final delivery to beat the defending champions and De Klerk crunched Sciver-Brunt back over her head to seal a remarkable victory.

The 25-year-old had starred with the ball earlier too, claiming 4-26 to reduce Mumbai to 154-6.

She removed Sciver-Brunt for four in the first over after the powerplay, before returning to remove Harmanpreet Kaur (20) in the 11th.

She also bowled the final over of the innings, removing Sajeevan Sajana (45) and Nicola Carey (40) as it went for just five.

England seamer Lauren Bell also impressed on her RCB debut, claiming figures of 1-14 in her four overs.

• WPL fixtures & table

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Selected players from Australia's Ashes squad - including stand-in captain Steve Smith - will play in the Big Bash from this weekend, but batter Travis Head will play no part.

Smith, wicketkeeper Alex Carey and batters Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja are among the players that will return this weekend and be available for their sides final three group games and the play-offs.

Bowlers Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc will be available for Brisbane Heat and Sydney Sixers from the 14 and 16 January respectively meaning they can play in two group matches.

Head has been rested before February's T20 World Cup, while pace bowler Scott Boland will also play no part.

All-rounder Cameron Green will also not feature as he is not contracted to any side.

Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all miss out as they continue to recover from injuries.

From Saturday, 10 January

Brisbane Heat: Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne

Melbourne Renegades: Brendan Doggett

From Sunday, 11 January

Sydney Sixers: Steve Smith, Todd Murphy

Hobart Hurricanes: Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

Adelaide Strikers: Alex Carey (Adelaide Strikers)

Perth Scorchers: Josh Inglis (Perth Scorchers)

From Wednesday, 14 January

Brisbane Heat: Michael Neser

From Friday, 16 January:

Sydney Sixers: Mitchell Starc

Not available

Nathan Lyon (hamstring injury), Scott Boland and Travis Head (both managed), Cameron Green (uncontracted)

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Defending champions Hobart Hurricanes extended their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 37-run win over Adelaide Strikers.

After being asked to bat, Hurricanes posted 178-6, despite Mitch Owen being their highest scorer with 33.

However, four other batters chipped in with England's Rehan Ahmed making 29, Matthew Wade 27, Nikhil Chaudhary 23 and Mac Wright 20 not out.

They were then immediately on top in the chase as they reduced Strikers to 8-4 after three overs.

Riley Meredith struck twice in the second over, before captain Nathan Ellis picked up two more in the third.

From there, Strikers were always behind the game and were reduced to 62-7. They eventually finished on 141-9, with Liam Scott finishing 91 not out.

Bangladesh's Rishad Hossain was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3-26.

The win moves Hurricanes four points clear at the top and knowing one win in their final two matches would seal a play-off spot.

Strikers remain fifth, two points off the top four.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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The match between Joburg Super Kings and Paarl Royals in SA20 was abandoned between innings because of lightning.

Super Kings had reached 187-6 after being put into bat, with openers James Vince, who top-scored with 75, and captain Faf du Plessis (39) putting on 73 inside the first seven overs.

Sikandar Raza bowled du Plessis for 39, after which Vince added 56 with Matthew de Villiers (30).

Royals shifted the momentum from the 14th over, taking five wickets for 40 runs, while the match was also delayed in the 19th over by a broken floodlight before succumbing to the Johannesburg weather conditions.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Franchises for Hyderabad and Sialkot will enter an expanded 2026 Pakistan Super League following an auction in Islamabad.

Bids for the two sides were won by FKS, a United States-based group who bought Hyderabad for PKR 1.75 billion (£4.61m), and Australia-located real estate consortium OZ Developers, who purchased Sialkot for PKR 1.85 billion (£4.87m).

The new franchises will join the six existing sides for the 11th season of the PSL, which is set to start on 23 March and end on 3 May.

The auction marks the first expansion of the competition since Multan Sultans joined the league for its third season in 2018.

FKS's bid for Hyderabad was won from a base price of PKR 1.1 billion, leading to the starting cost in the Sialkot auction being lifted to PKR 1.7 billion.

The fees, which will be paid annually to the Pakistan Cricket Board for the right to operate the franchise, are significantly larger than those paid by the existing teams, which are all valued between PKR 370m and 670m.

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The India-based Women's Premier League (WPL) returns on Friday, 9 January for its fourth edition.

The tournament is the women's equivalent of the men's Indian Premier League (IPL) and attracts the world's biggest names.

The five teams are: Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Indians, UP Warriorz, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Three - Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru - are associated with teams from the IPL.

Mumbai are the defending champions after a eight-run win over Delhi in last year's final.

The five teams form one table and each side plays the other four twice.

The group stage runs until 1 February - there are some days with no fixtures - before the eliminator (second and third in the group stage) on 3 February.

The winners of the eliminator play the side who topped the group stage in the final on 5 February.

Two venues will be used in the tournament: Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai (9-17 Jan) and Vadodara International Cricket Stadium (19 Jan-5 Feb).

• WPL fixtures

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Five England players are set to feature in the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League, including two players for the first time.

Seamer Lauren Bell, who has previously been signed by UP Warriorz but then pulled out of the tournament, is at 2024 winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Left-arm spinner Linsey Smith, who impressed with 12 wickets in the 50-over World Cup in October, will also feature for the first time and will represent RCB.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt returns to two-time winners Mumbai Indians for the fourth consecutive season, while left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone was purchased by UP Warriorz at the action having been released initially.

Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge completes the England players involved, with the 34-year-old at Gujarat Giants, having played six games for RCB previously.

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As has become the norm, a host of the world's best women's cricketers are joining India's array of stars in the fourth edition of the Women's Premier League.

Defending champions Mumbai Indians will again be led by India captain Harmanpreet Kaur, while bowler Amanjot Kaur will be joined by returning overseas players Amelia Kerr, Hayley Matthews and Shabnim Ismail.

They will also be joined by exciting 20-year-old Australia seamer Milly Illingworth, who will make her tournament debut.

Last year's beaten finalists Delhi Capitals have had a reshuffle. India's Jemimah Rodrigues takes over the captaincy and is joined by Shafali Verma, N Charani and Sneh Rana.

South Africa all-rounder Marianne Kapp returns and is joined by Laura Wolvaardt and Lizelle Lee, while Australia's Alana King has joined as a replacement player.

Australia's Lucy Hamilton, 19, was also picked up by the Capitals for the first time.

Former Australia captain Meg Lanning was released by the Capitals, but has been signed by UP Warriorz and will captain them.

She's joined by India all-rounder Deepti Sharma and overseas players Phoebe Litchfield, Chloe Tryon and Deandra Dottin.

India opener Smriti Mandhana will captain Royal Challengers Bengaluru and is joined by compatriot Richa Ghosh and Australia's Grace Harris and Georgia Voll and South Africa powerhouse all-rounder Nadine de Klerk.

There's an Australian feel at Gujarat Giants with all-rounder Ash Gardner leading the side and she is joined by Beth Mooney, Georgia Wareham and Kim Garth.

New Zealand's Sophie Devine rounds off their overseas picks, while Yastika Bhatia and Renuka Singh are their standout India names.

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Sydney Sixers sealed their third successive victory with a comfortable six-wicket win over Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 129, Sixers comfortably reached their target with 17 balls to spare, condemning Stars to three consecutive defeats.

Josh Philippe top-scored with 35, while Jordan Silk and Lachlan Shaw's unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 40 saw out the match.

Stars started steadily after being put into bat, reaching 43-0 before losing their top-order of Sam Harper, Chris Rogers and Campbell Kellaway over the course of 13 balls.

Marcus Stoinis and Blake Macdonald, who each scored 33, added 44 for the fourth wicket, but the latter's dismissal sparked a collapse which saw the Stars lose their last seven wickets for 31 runs.

Seamers Jack Edwards and Ben Dwarshuis took 3-27 and 4-13 respectively, with Dwarshuis removing Stoinis and Haris Rauf with back-to-back deliveries.

The left-armer returned to take the last wicket of Liam Hatcher, as Stars were bowled out with one ball remaining in their innings.

The win sees Sixers move level with Stars on eight points after four games, with the two sides remaining in fourth and third respectively.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Shai Hope smashed a brilliant unbeaten 118 for Pretoria Capitals while Jos Buttler was denied a century of his own as his Durban's Super Giants side were beaten by 15 runs in the SA20.

After Hope's hundred set a target of 202, Buttler almost bludgeoned Super Giants to victory on his own, finishing stranded on 97 in the final over, with his side dismissed for 186.

With two wickets remaining and needing 22 from the final over, the former England captain was unable to score off Roston Chase's first two balls and then saw Kwena Maphaka and Noor Ahmad run out for ducks from the next two deliveries.

Buttler, who struck nine fours and five sixes in his 52-ball innings, couldn't find a long-term partner, with opener Marques Ackerman, who was dismissed for 27 to bring Buttler to the crease, the next highest Super Giants scorer.

Kane Williamson, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen were all dismissed in the teens, before Lungi Ngidi took the first hat-trick in the tournament's history, having lower-order batters David Wiese, Sunil Narine and Gerald Coetzee caught in the 18th over.

After being put into bat, West Indies international Hope struck nine fours and nine sixes in his 69-ball effort, sharing a 101-run opening partnership with Connor Esterhuizen.

Esterhuizen was caught by Markram off the bowling of David Wiese for 37, and Hope's other remaining partners played the junior role as the 32-year-old hammered Capitals to a winning score of 201-4.

The win sees Capitals leapfrog over Super Giants into fourth.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Australia Under-19s captain Oliver Peake hit a match-winning six off the final ball of the game as Melbourne Renegades beat Perth Scorchers by four wickets in the Big Bash League.

Chasing 130 and needing four for victory, the 19-year-old paddled Aaron Hardie over fine leg as Renegades completed their second successive winning chase in the final over of a match.

Peake, who has already played 18 senior games and won the 2024 Under-19 World Cup as a 17-year-old, finished with 44 from 30 deliveries.

He was assisted by captain Will Sutherland (15), with the pair putting on 42 after the home side had looked in trouble on 72-5 in the 13th over.

Sutherland was caught in the covers off David Payne in the penultimate over, one ball after hitting the English seamer for six, but the youngster Peake finished the job in style.

Scorchers struggled after being put into bat, with opener Mitchell Marsh, who hit a steady 27 from 25 balls, one of only two batters to pass 12.

Aaron Hardie top-scored with 44, before becoming the first of three Gurinder Sandu victims in the 18th over, with the seamer also removing tailenders Joel Paris and Payne for ducks on the way to figures of 4-28.

Jhye Richardson was then run out in the final over as Scorchers were bowled out for 127 with four balls remaining in their innings.

Defeat means Scorchers miss out on the chance to move above Hobart Hurricanes at the top of the table, while Renegades ascend one place to sixth, level on points with three other teams.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Defending champions MI Cape Town won their first match of the season with a four-wicket victory over Joburg Super Kings in SA20.

In a rain-affected match that was reduced to 12 overs a side, the home side chased a revised target of 128 with four balls to spare to seal a win at the sixth attempt.

Opener Rassie van der Dussen (35 from 24 balls) and Nicholas Pooran (33 from 15) got Cape Town's innings off to a good start, while Jason Smith (22 from seven) and Karim Janat (nine not out) hit three sixes from English seamer Richard Gleeson's penultimate over to set-up victory.

Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis made a blistering start to his side's innings after losing the toss, hitting 43 from 18 deliveries, including four consecutive boundaries off the final over of the powerplay, after which the rain came down.

The players returned after more than an hour off the field, but Du Plessis only managed to add one run to his total before he was well caught by Reeza Hendricks off the bowling of Rashid Khan, four balls after the resumption of play.

Having reached 69-2 before the break, Super Kings reached 123-7 at the conclusion of their remaining six overs, with MI's Corbin Bosch taking 3-24 from his three overs.

MI remain bottom but are now within one point of fifth-placed Pretoria Capitals, while second-place Super Kings miss out on the chance to go level on points with leaders Sunrisers Eastern Cape after their first defeat of the season.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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England seamers Luke Wood and Jamie Overton starred as Adelaide Strikers beat Sydney Thunder by six runs in the Big Bash League.

Overton took 3-25 as Adelaide defended a score of 165-8, having Matthew Gilkes caught for 43 to break a threatening 73-run opening stand with David Warner.

Thunder lost Sam Billings and Sam Konstas for scores of one and two respectively, but Warner rebuilt alongside Nic Maddinson, adding 44 for the fourth wicket.

Overton, who like Wood has been named in England's squad for February's T20 World Cup, returned to break that partnership, bowling Maddinson for 21, and then had compatriot David Willey caught by Matthew Short for eight in the penultimate over.

The unbeaten Warner, on 66 from 47 balls, remained on strike for the final over with Thunder needing 13 runs for victory, but the wicketless Wood delivered a death bowling masterclass to seal the win for the home side.

His first three deliveries were dot balls, and Warner could only find a single of his fourth.

Nathan McAndrew edged a four from the fifth ball, meaning the tail-ender needed to hit a final-ball six to win the match, but he only managed a single off Wood's last delivery as Thunder finished short on 159-7.

Adelaide had recovered from 19-2 after being put into bat, with Mackenzie Harvey (38) and Jason Sangha (31) putting on 68 for the third wicket.

Both batters departed in quick succession, with Harvey falling to Ashton Agar (3-16), but all-rounder Liam Scott struck an unbeaten 49 to ensure Adelaide had a defendable total.

Thunder's sixth defeat in seven games means they remain rooted to the bottom of the table and they can now no longer reach the play-offs.

Meanwhile Adelaide move up one place to fifth with a record of three wins and three losses.

• Big Bash fixtures & table

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Jonny Bairstow hit a blistering 85 not out from 45 balls, including 34 in a Keshav Maharaj over, as Sunrisers Eastern Cape thrashed Pretoria Capitals in the SA20.

The 36-year-old Yorkshireman, who last played for England in 2024, shared an unbroken opening stand of 177 with South Africa left-hander Quinton de Kock (79* from 41) as Sunrisers raced to a 10-wicket win.

The experienced opening pair needed only 14.2 overs to overhaul Pretoria's 176-7, combining for 12 sixes - six apiece - and 13 fours at Centurion.

De Kock had been the slightly more aggressive of the two, reaching his half-century from 29 balls, before Bairstow exploded in the 12th over.

Up against South Africa left-arm spinner Maharaj, Bairstow launched the first ball high over mid-wicket to bring up his fifty from 35 balls before nailing two more sixes over the same region.

The prospect of six sixes in an over ended with a four next ball but two huge straight sixes ended a mammoth over - the most expensive in the SA20's short history - and put Sunrisers on the cusp of victory.

Earlier, Anrich Nortje took 3-32 for Sunrisers, with Connor Esterhuizen, who top-scored for Pretoria with 52 from 33, among his scalps.

Sherfane Rutherford added an unbeaten 47 from 22 late in the innings to boost the Capitals' total but, once Bairstow and De Kock got going, it was never going to be enough.

Victory puts Sunrisers top of the table on 17 points with Pretoria down in fifth on seven.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Sydney Sixers edged home by three wickets in pursuit of just 115 to beat Brisbane Heat and move into the Big Bash play-off places.

Sixers slipped to 56-7 in their chase, at which stage Heat had a real chance setting a new Big Bash record for the lowest score successfully defended.

But, on a tricky pitch, Joel Davies and Hayden Kerr shared a superb unbeaten partnership of 62 from 49 balls to secure victory with eight balls to spare.

Kerr clubbed impressive 20-year-old left-arm Oli Patterson, who earlier dismissed Babar Azam and Josh Philippe in his third top-level T20, for six to finish 27 not out while Davies ended unbeaten on 35.

Spinner Davies and Australia seamers Ben Dwarshuis and Sean Abbott all took two wickets in Heat's 114-9.

Heat were 74-8 and 91-9 but an unbroken final-wicket stand of 23 between Patterson and Thomas Balkin gave them slim hope.

Heat drop to fifth after the defeat, one place below Sixers who have played a game fewer.

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England all-rounder Sam Curran made 74 not out as Desert Vipers won their first International League T20 title with a 46-run win over MI Emirates.

After being put into bat, Vipers slipped to 36-2 in the fourth over before Curran put on 89 with Max Holden (41 off 32) for the third wicket.

Curran, who hit eight fours and two sixes in his 51-ball knock, then shared 57 with Dan Lawrence (23 off 15), who was run out off the final ball of the innings.

MI Emirates, who won the tournament in 2024, slipped to 54-4 in reply.

Pakistan's Naseem Shah picked up two of those wickets, including the key strike of England batter Tom Banton, who hit a match-winning half-century in Qualifier 2.

From there, MI Emirates were also behind the game and were eventually bowled out for 136 in 18.3 overs.

Curran's knock ensures he finishes the tournament as the top run-scorer (397), while Afghanistan's Waqar Salamkheil and the United Arab Emirates' Ajay Kumar finish as the top wicket-taker with 18.

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Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza took 4-13 to set up a comfortable seven-wicket win for Paarl Royals against MI Cape Town in the SA20.

Cape Town were 27-0 when Raza came on to bowl the fifth over and had Rassie van der Dussen caught for 14.

From there, Cape Town fell away and were bowled out for 88 in 18.4 overs.

Raza returned in the 13th over to bowl Jason Smith, before he dismissed George Linde and Rashid Khan in successive balls in the 17th over.

Royals lost Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first over of the chase but Glamorgan and England Lions batter Asa Tribe put on 54 for the second wicket with Rubin Hermann.

The latter fell to leave Royals 56-2 and Tribe was out for 34 three overs later.

But David Miller and Kyle Verreynne saw Royals over the line with 42 balls to spare.

The bonus-point win sees Royals climb to second, while defending champions Cape Town remain bottom.

• SA20 fixtures & table

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Captain Will Sutherland hit two sixes in the final over to power Melbourne Renegades to a gripping four-wicket victory over rivals Melbourne Stars.

With 13 needed from the last over in pursuit of 174, Sutherland began by hitting Marcus Stoinis over the leg side and, with three needed from the last two balls, struck the Australia all-rounder back over his head to complete victory with a ball to spare in front of a crowd in excess of 65,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Renegades had stumbled from a strong position of 127-1 after opener Josh Brown was bowled for 84 at the start of the 14th over.

They lost 5-34, including Mohammad Rizwan for 41, but Sutherland secured Renegades' second win of the season by finishing 19 not out from seven balls.

Stars, who would have gone top of the standings with a win, had to scrap to their total of 173-9 with England bowler Tom Curran top-scoring with 38.

Campbell Kellaway made 33 and Hilton Cartwright 28 but the loss of regular wickets checked the scoring.

Perth Scorchers moved above Stars into second later on Sunday by beating Adelaide Strikers by 33 runs.

An opening partnership of 72 between Mitchell Marsh and Sam Fanning set up the hosts‘ 153-8 and Adelaide barely threatened in their chase and were dismissed for 120.

Strikers are sixth and Renegades seventh with two wins from five matches.

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Both of Saturday's matches in the SA20 were abandoned without a ball bowled because of rain and the persistent threat of lightning in the local area.

Joburg Super Kings' match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape was a day game and the weather relented initially for a five-over game to be agreed and a toss to take place, but the lightning returned and caused the game to be abandoned.

Durban's Super Giants were due to face Pretoria Capitals in a day-night match but the toss was delayed due to inclement weather.

A toss took place, with a 16-over-per-side game agreed, but the rain returned and the game was eventually abandoned.

All four sides take two points each. It means Super Kings are three points clear of Sunrisers at the top of the table, while Super Giants and Capitals are fourth and fifth respectively.

• SA20 fixtures & table