Batsman Dean Elgar appreciated the support of captain AB de Villiers as the Tshwane Spartans beat the Jozi Stars by four wickets in Wednesday’s Mzansi Super League fixture at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Chasing a daunting 187-run target, Elgar and De Villiers shared an important 68-run partnership to triumph with three deliveries to spare. The left-hander struck 79 not out to the right-hander’s 39.

‘It was a tough target to chase down, but AB takes the pressure off me and the other batters. His innings got the required rate down considerably. These games in this tournament happen so quickly – and hopefully this win will give us momentum,’ said Elgar.

The result lifted the Spartans from the bottom of the competition’s six-team standings to third position, while the Stars slipped to fourth.

‘I thought it was a good wicket and guys chased it down really well. I could see the joy on the faces of the boys, but we haven’t played our best game yet. We can still play better,’ added De Villiers.

The Stars failed to capitalise on a commanding partnership between openers Gihahn Cloete and Ryan Rickelton – and relied on a late-order cameo from the hard-hitting Pite van Biljon.

‘We could have taken more risk in the middle overs. We let ourselves down in the field a bit. We need to work on a few things and we could do something really good in the tournament,’ concluded Vilas.

Image: Gallo