END OF OVER:20 | 8 Runs | SEO: 140/9 (38 runs required, RR: 7.00)
- Nandre Burger3 (3b)
- Ayan Desai5 (5b)
- Marcus Stoinis3-0-25-0
- Ottneil Baartman4-0-20-3
11.35pm Right then, that concludes the league stage of the MLC 2024. Texas Super Kings will be back in action tomorrow, against MI New York in the Eliminator. For today, it's Abhimanyu signing off on behalf of Vishal and Binoy. Good night/day, folks!
11.25pm Time for the presentation ceremony.
Texas Super Kings captain, Faf du Plessis: "I think it was important for a few guys to get time in the middle. We changed our batting lineup a little today. For someone like Milind scoring 25 runs today, good time in the middle. And rest was important for some of the guys, giving their bodies a rest. [On playing a dead rubber] We did have an eye on tomorrow, not going to lie about that. Lot of the focus, even in the back end, was with an eye on tomorrow."
Orcas skipper, Heinrich Klaasen: "[On the season] It's difficult. It's proper difficult. And when the guys are out of form it makes things more difficult. And we had some injuries as well. And then with all the chopping and changing, it's not easy. The bowling group was fantastic but they didn't have enough runs to defend. The batting group were always lacking 15-20 runs. Senior players including myself couldn't be there at the back end. I think this season goes down to the batters. Unfortunately we couldn't perform. It's just been a tough season for us. I think some guys who were proper value for us and we can invest in. There's a lot of things we can look out for. It's not all doom and gloom for the franchise, we are a very proud franchise. We will have a good recap over the next week or so."
Unsurprisingly, it's Calvin Savage who is the player of the match. Here's what he has to say: "[On his innings] Put in a lot of hard work and nice to see it come to fruition. It's been a great experience. Had a lot of fun out there. I tried to keep it pretty simple and took opportunities that I felt suited me. I just stayed positive and played my game. [On his bowling] Just tried to keep it wicket to wicket. It was a good wicket to bat on. I thought we were a smidge over par."
11.20pm So, Texas Super Kings will go into tomorrow's Eliminator against MI New York with a win behind them, while Orcas finish a miserable campaign with another defeat. It was truly a Savage display from the Super Kings. No, I am not trying to wax lyrical here. It was Calvin Savage whose unbeaten 45 at the death took Super Kings to a good total when they were in big trouble at one stage. He then took two key wickets in a superb all-round display. None of the Orcas batters barring Quinton de Kock really got going, and by the time Keemo Paul did, Orcas were already well behind the eight ball. Baartman finishes with a three-for, while Noor picked two as well.
Albie Morkel, the TSK coach: "I think we've been good so far. Happy with the last few performances. Today quite a few new guys got opportunities and they did well. Tough to get yourselves up for games like this but we tried our best to play with a high intensity. Hope we can repeat that against MI New York. [On Savage] I think he struggled last year with injuries. His batting looks better this year, he is playing that No. 7 role perfectly."
Uma: "savage should be the MoM" - Definitely the leading candidate by a big margin!
Around the wicket now