E-Paper
Sign in
INR 1.08 crore for one catch! SA20 fan's one-handed blinder steals the show in Newlands
Durban's Super Giants achieved a record 232/5 in SA20, with MI Cape Town's Ryan Rickelton scoring 113.
MI Cape Town’s opening-night chase at Newlands had everything a modern T20 league sells: a record total, a blazing hundred, and sixes that landed deep into the crowd primed for theatre. But the moment that travelled fastest didn’t come off a bat; it came off a catch in the stands.
A spectator pulled off a stunning one-handed take of a ball hit for xi and instantly became the headline act, pocketing Rand 2 million (roughly INR 1.08 crore) as a part of the league’s fan-catch promotion.
The grab came when Ryan Rickelton launched a maximum during MI Cape Town’s pursuit in the fourth ball of the 13th over. The ball found a fan who didn’t just catch it, but caught it with one hand. That detail matters, because the promotion is built around exactly that skill: in SA20 stadiums, Catch 2 million concept puts up R2 million to be shared among fans who managed a clean one-handed catch when a six flies their way.
It is a small twist that changes the atmosphere of a ground. Every towering it becomes a second contest, thousands of eyes tracking the ball, half hoping it drops near them, half hoping it drops near someone brave enough to try. It is gimmicky, sure, but also brutally effective: for a split second, the spectator is as central as the players in the middle.
Also Read: India women's World Cup lead a trophy-packed 2025: Here are five best moments of Indian cricket
The cricket underneath the carnival was no sideshow. Durban’s Super Giants hammered 232/5, the highest total in SA20 history, in a night of pure boundary violence that produced 449 runs, 25 sixes and 40 boundaries overall.
Ryan Rickelton almost turned it into a perfect counter-story, smashing 113 off 65 with 11 sixes, dragging MI Cape Town to the edge of the impossible. But Durban held their nerve at the death: seamer Eathan Bosch closed the door in the final over, dismissing Rickelton when the equation still demanded a miracle, as the visitors sealed a 15-run win. And yet, the loudest replay belonged to a fan, proof that in franchise cricket, the best highlight package sometimes comes with a ticket, not a contract.
