New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS): In the ongoing SA20, Pretoria Capitals secured a dominating win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape on the back of opener Phil Salt's monstrous 77 off 47 deliveries that took them to a competitive 193.
In their defence, tearaway fast bowler Anrich Nortje was too hot to handle with a four-over spell that got him two wickets, conceding just 18 runs, eventually stopping Sunrisers for 170/5, as Capitals got a 23-run victory.
Apart from playing for Pretoria, Salt, who plays for England and was a member of the T20 World Cup winning team last year, will also be featuring for Delhi Capitals, who acquired his services for INR 2 crore in the IPL 2023 mini-player auctions in December 2022.
Former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha feels Salt can be the keeper for Delhi in IPL 2023, especially with the captain and left-handed keeper-batter Rishabh Pant ruled out from the tournament as he is recovering from multiple injuries suffered in a horrific car accident on December 30, 2022.
"The most important thing is when you talk about their sister franchise the situation that they are in they would need someone like Salt to keep and deliver the way he's delivered here. And I think all these think tanks will be looking at him as a resource where he can come in and fix those puzzles which they have a small gap," said Ojha on Match Centre Live show on Sports18.
Ojha also expressed his views on Nortje's performance and was impressed with how he mixed his pace against the Sunrisers.
"He's been bowling quick and if you see the way he's been bowling attacking those stumps, he's trying to be disciplined and see the way he was mixing up the pace. He bowled those knuckle deliveries."
"When you are bowling at 150 and then suddenly coming back to 120-125 that difference really troubles you. And Nortje has been there, he's been doing that in and out and he knows with those scores on the board it gives you that much cushion to even experiment with more and more bowlers."*