Marco Jansen enjoyed a breakout year in 2022, earning plaudits for his seam bowling in the Test arena but today the tall all-rounder showed the vast potential he possesses with the bat as well.
Jansen, playing for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape side in the SA20, came in at No.7 as his team floundered in their pursuit of MI Cape Town’s first-innings total of 171-6. When Jansen strolled out to the middle MI Cape Town were in control of the contest having reduced SEC to 91-5 in the 13th over.
That soon became 105-6 after 15 overs after English overseas batter Jordan Cox was run out – SEC were left needing 67 from the final five overs with Jansen and England bowler Brydon Carse at the crease.
Jansen proceeded to launch into an astonishing assault on Rashid Khan, widely regarded as the most accomplished spinner in the T20 game. Jansen took 28 runs off Rashid’s final over, smoking the Afghanistan wrist-spinner for four sixes and a four in the 16th over of the run chase. Suddenly, the required rate was back under 10 runs per over – but all of Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran had overs left to bowl.
Four runs were taken off the first four balls of Rabada’s next over before Jansen took the attack to his South Africa teammate, swatting him first four and then a six to bring the equation down to 25 runs off the final three overs. With the required run rate back under control, Jansen (and Carse) were more circumspect in the following over against Archer, who had been the pick of the MI Cape Town bowlers. They knocked him around for seven runs off the over, leaving SEC needing 18 off the final 12 balls.
The penultimate over was bowled by Rabada and once more, Jansen went up through the gears. clearing the ropes twice more to bring the target down to single figures before he fell off Rabada’s last delivery, mis-reading a slower delivery to depart for a 27-ball 66.
At this point SEC had just two wickets in hand but needed four runs off the final over, which was bowled by Curran who had been expensive for Cape Town. Roelof van der Merwe took three off the first two balls to draw the scores level. The third ball of the over – delivered to Sisanda Magala – was a dot, as was the following ball, but replays showed that Curran had overstepped, handing SEC an unlikely win.
You can watch Jansen hit Rashid for 28 runs in an over below:
Some clean hitting by Marco Jansen as he smashes 2⃣8⃣ runs off the Rashid over 🚀#Betway #SA20 #MICTvSEC | @Betway_India pic.twitter.com/504jSzfqXf
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 18, 2023