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Stubbs — the finisher — has been at his impactful cricketing best in the Indian Premier League

Stubbs — the finisher — has been at his impactful cricketing best in the Indian Premier League
Aiden Markram has started to find some form with the bat in the Indian Premier League for the Lucknow Super Giants. (Photo: Indian Premier League)
Keanan Hemmonsbey
By Keanan Hemmonsbey
11 Apr 2025
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South Africa’s (SA’s) batters are making an impact in the IPL, while the bowlers are struggling for game time.

Proteas star middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs has been used exclusively as a finisher for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) thus far, a role he has performed to near perfection.

His Delhi Capitals side is undefeated after four matches and Stubbs, instrumental with the willow, has only been dismissed once so far this season.

His knocks, in order are 34 off 22, 21 off 14, 24 off 12 and 38 off 23, with the last three all being undefeated and on two of those occasions, he was at the crease when his side chased down totals.

The most recent of those came on Thursday when, alongside KL Rahul (93 off 53) they chased down Royal Challengers Bangaluru’s 163 with 13 balls to spare.

“My roles recently have been so different,” Stubbs said after the match. “I face the new ball in Test cricket,” while he is asked to do the job as a finisher for his IPL side.

“I feel like international cricket can still be classed as old-school cricket because the scores aren’t as big as they are here so I’m also in that space.

“I could fall back on past experiences. When [the wicket] is really good it frees you up to just play.

“It’s tough playing different situations but that’s cricket and that’s why we love it.”

The hard-hitting Stubbs has had no problems clearing the boundary at will either, with a strike rate of 164.78 at this stage.

Stubbs’ 40-year-old teammate at Delhi and compatriot Faf du Plessis has been less consistent with the bat, with scores of 29, 50 and two, in the three matches he played.

Aiden Markram has started to find some form with the bat in the IPL for the Lucknow Super Giants. (Photo: Indian Premier League)


Markram on form


Proteas T20 skipper Aiden Markram has found a bit of form at the top of the order for the Lucknow Super Giants.

After scoring 15 and one in his first two matches of the season, he has gone on to make 28, 53 and 47 in his next three matches.

Markram is part of arguably the most destructive top-three in the IPL this season, alongside the high-flying West Indian Nicholas Pooran (288), who is the highest run-scorer in the tournament while opening the batting with Aussie Mitchell Marsh (265), who is third on the run-scoring charts.

Read more: South Africa’s cricketing talent awaits breakthrough in electrifying 2025 IPL season

“From a batting point of view, I’ve been feeling alright,” Markam said ahead of his side’s clash with table-toppers Gujarat Titans on Saturday.

“As you know, in the IPL you need to take the powerplay on. [We’ve been given] all the freedom from coaching staff, management and the captain so it’s good.

“With Mitch [Marsh], we’re getting along really nicely. He takes the game and moves the game forward quite quickly. It’s a nice partnership to be involved in.

“In T20 cricket if you can get your team off to a good, quick start, it goes a long way in setting the game up.”

It’s been a middling start for Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Heinrich Klaasen so far, who is currently in contract talks with the Proteas, having not been part of the contracted list for next season released by Cricket South Africa this week.

So far in the IPL, Klaasen has been able to get in, but unable to go big. He has the most runs among South African batters this season with 152, but his highest score is only 34. But his lowest is 26, with all three of his other scores coming between those numbers.

While Klaasen has been unable to kick on for the basement-dwelling Sunrisers, when he has connected, the ball has stayed hit with his strike rate of 168.88.

No bowlers


On the bowling front, no South Africans turned their arms over this past week.

Gujarat Titans’ Kagiso Rabada has returned to SA for “personal reasons”, according to a statement the team put out.

Rabada played Gujarat’s first two matches in IPL 2025, taking one wicket for 41 runs in the defeat to Punjab Kings, and one for 42 runs in the victory against Mumbai Indians.

Read more: Record-breaking buys and heartbreak for South African cricketers at IPL 2025 mega-auction

He did not play their third game, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, his absence attributed to personal reasons.

The Titans brought in allrounder Arshad Khan, and have fielded only three overseas players since, in Jos Buttler, Rashid Khan and Sherfane Rutherford.

Gujarat’s other overseas options are New Zealand allrounder Glenn Phillips, who hasn’t played a game yet, and SA fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, who also hasn’t featured and may not be fully fit, having struggled with different niggles over the past year.

Other South African quicks Lungi Ngidi (Royal Challengers Bengaluru), Anrich Nortje (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Corbin Bosch (Mumbai Indians) have not had a bowl in the middle at the IPL yet this season. DM

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