From depths of despair to heights of glory: The MI Cape Town story | Cricket News

When Afghanistan stalwart Rashid Khan lifted the IPL 2022 trophy following the Gujarat Titans‘ (GT) stunning triumph in their maiden IPL season, he must have certainly experienced a wave of jubilation. Well, why wouldn’t he, having won his first-ever trophy while representing a team?
While individual accolades had come his way, the feeling of lifting the trophy after winning a tournament hits differently.
Rashid would have certainly expected more silverware to come his way after being named the captain of SA20 franchise Mumbai Indians Cape Town (MICT).
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However, the cricketer as well as fans of the franchise were in for a shocker as MICT finished bottom in the inaugural season.
While the campaign started off with a win against Paarl Royals, it was soon followed by a loss against Durban Super Giants (DSG).
MICT only managed to win two out of the remaining eight matches. Rashid personally had a season to forget, accounting for nine wickets in 10 matches.
Kagiso Rabada was the franchise’s top wicket-taker, picking 11 wickets while Roelof van der Merwe, the season’s top wicket-taker accounted for 20 dismissals in comparison.
There was a clear gap even in the run-scoring charts with MICT’s Rassie van der Dussen (243) finishing as the team’s leading run-scorer in comparison to the league’s top run-getter Jos Buttler (391).

To make matters worse, Rashid was ruled out of the tournament’s second season due to a back injury. Things were expected to take a turn for the better under the leadership of MI legend Kieron Pollard. While MICT started off the season with a narrow 11-run loss against DSG, they bounced back with a 98-run win against Joburg Super Kings (JSK).
However, old habits die hard as they say. Inconsistency crept in and matches were conceded from positions of power. MICT’s struggle clearly reflected in their 10-wicket loss against JSK, whom they’d thumped earlier. While Ryan Rickleton (530) led the run-scoring charts, the South African was largely left waging a long battle. Even Rabada had an average season by his lofty standards, picking nine wickets. MICT finished bottom of the table for the second consecutive year, resulting in a wave of despair and hopelessness all around. There was even talk of a complete overhaul in the squad buildup, indicating the uncertainty.
However, as the saying goes, “It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars.” Just when things seemed done and dusted for MICT, in came Rashid to save the day. “I got a phone call ahead of the third season asking whether I wanted to lead. I said yes,” said the Afghanistan all-rounder.
A team which had struggled to string together even a couple of wins in the previous editions suddenly found its groove.

One of the key factors behind this turnaround was the dominance in powerplay and intent shown consistently by Rassie, Rickleton, Dewald Brevis and George Linde.
Batting first had been a concern for MICT in the opening two editions, with only three wins in 11 matches batting first. Things changed in the third season as MICT won six out of their eight completed matches batting first.
There was an all-round focus on performances with unheralded players like Delano Potgieter making their presence felt. A team which was rock bottom managed to pull off a miracle reaching the tournament’s final.
However, the sternest of challenges awaited them, with Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) their opponents for this tough encounter. SEC had won the previous two editions of the tournament, entering the final for the third consecutive time.

Rassie and Rickleton got MICT off to a strong start, scoring 50 inside five overs. However, the loss of three quick wickets threatened to detail the MICT innings. It was at this point that Brevis, popularly known as ‘Baby AB’, stepped up and delivered the goods, helping MICT post 181. Brevis smashed 38 off 18 balls, in a knock comprising two fours and four sixes.
“I had lot of things in my head. I won’t forget the last season. It was tough. I wanted to focus on few things and give it my best,” stated the South African batter. The bowlers further stepped in and rose to Rashid’s rallying call, knocking out the opposition for 105 in 18.4 overs, in a stunning show of intent. Rabada was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for four wickets.
“Throughout this season, we didn’t play a selfish innings. Every player thought about what the team needs. This is the only franchise which has won every tournament. We have won the IPL, MLC, the ILT20 and now the SA20,” said Rashid, whose relentless pursuit for a second trophy had finally come to an end. While the Afghanistan all-rounder wouldn’t have imagined such an agonising wait, it finally arrived in the sweetest and grandest of ways.