Gauteng bounced back from an opening defeat to Eastern Province, beating Northerns by eight wickets in Potchefstroom on Saturday.
Northerns won the toss and elected to bat first, and the young duo of Jiveshan Pillay and Tony de Zorzi did well to help their side recover after losing an early wicket in the second over.
The pair took their side past the 100-run mark, thanks to a well-measured 47-ball 56 from SA U19 batsman Pillay, before the 18-year-old fell victim to the spin of Aaron Phangiso.
With his side on 105-2, De Zorzi took over with the help of 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Rubin Hermann, who stuck around, facing 15 balls before being dismissed for 22.
De Zorzi managed to take his side to 142-3 by the end of the 20 overs, the 20-year-old unbeaten on 44 off 5o balls.
In the end, it was a comfortable response from Gauteng, despite losing experienced campaigners Stephen Cook and Mangaliso Mosehle on 26 and 33 respectively.
Ryan Rickelton and Farhaan Sayanvala took Gauteng over the line, after being two down for 115.
Twenty-one-year-old Rickelton was the star for his side, smashing a 46-ball 60 (two 6s and five 4s), while his 21-year-old partner chipped in with an eight-ball 16 to claim an eight-wicket win with 25 balls remaining.
Elsewhere, Group B was smashed wide open as North West beat defending champions Eastern Province by 41 runs.
This leaves two teams on four points, a win and a loss, while EP top the table by net run rate, as they drew level with Gauteng on 5 points, despite having the same win-loss ratio (one win, one loss).
Marques Ackerman was the star on the day, after top-scoring with 76, which helped his side post 143-8.
Eastern Province struggled to muster a reply as 18-year-old SA U19 opener Matthew Breetzk scored 30 and ex- SA U19 all-rounder Solo Nqweni managed 37 not out, EP bundled out for 102.
Craig Alexander (4-11) and Johannes Diseko (3-25) were the chief destroyers for EP as they claimed a 41-run win.
Photo: Lee Warren/Gallo Images
