SA20 Match 30: Pretoria Capitals beat Paarl Royals by 59 runs but Royals do enough to get semi final spot

In a nailbiting finish for Paarl Royals fans, they did just enough to secure a semi-final spot, in SA20, despite being beaten by 59 runs, by Pretoria Capitals today, at SuperSport Park, Centurion.

Match Summary

Pretoria Capitals vs Paarl Royals, 30th Match, SA20

Pretoria Capitals 226/5 (20 ov)

Paarl Royals 167/9 (20 ov)

Result - Pretoria Capitals won by 59 runs

SCORECARD  

The elegance of Kusal Mendis' innings sees him claim the Player of the Match award ??#Betway #SA20 #PCvPR @Betway_India pic.twitter.com/nFt2TNFRGc

— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) February 7, 2023

Match Highlights

Paarl Royals won the toss and opted to bowl and Pretoria Capitals took full advantage, hitting a massive 226/5 for the Paarl Royals to chase down, mainly thanks to sublime batting of Kusal Mendis (80), Colin Ingram (41) and Phil Salt (39).

In the run chase, the Paarl Royals were soon in trouble at 38/3, losing 3 quick wickets to the Capitals bowlers and were always behind the run rate from there on in, despite a fighting 70 (45) from Jos Buttler. The Royals were 167/9 after their 20 overs, but it was just enough to reach the semi-finals.

Jimmy Neesham 3-28, Adil Rashid 2-18 and Migael Pretorius 2-21 were the main wicket takers for the Capitals.

Player of the Match - Kusal Mendis

Match Analysis

The Paarl Royals may have lost by 59 runs to the Pretoria Capitals in the last round-robin match of the Betway SA20, but they did just enough to sneak into the semi-finals. 

The Royals were playing a game within a game after the Capitals posted a mammoth 226/5 in their allotted 20 overs. 

Sri Lankan international Kusal Mendis was the mainstay of the Capitals innings with 80 off 41 balls. Colin Ingram (41) and Phil Salt (39) also made worthwhile contributions. 

The Paarl-based side’s secondary target was 163 in order to edge out Durban’s Super Giants for the last remaining semi-final spot. 

The Super Giants’ hopes were rising when the Royals were reduced to 38/3 in the Powerplay and then a further 101/5 in the 14th over when captain David Miller walked back to the pavilion with seemingly his team’s hopes of progressing with him. 

However, the Royals still had Jos Buttler at the crease and England’s limited-overs captain delivered a superb 70 off 45 balls (4x4, 5x6) to take his team to the brink of qualification. 

Ten runs were still required off eight balls when Buttler departed though and it was left to Bjorn Fortuin to get the Royals into the semi-finals with a vitally important eight runs off eight deliveries. 

The table-topping Capitals, meanwhile, will be glad that they returned to winning ways after their hiccup against the Super Giants with a rematch awaiting them against the Royals in the first semi-final at the Wanderers on Wednesday. 

The second Betway SA20 semi-final will see Joburg Super Kings face off against third-placed Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Centurion on Thursday. 

 

Match Stats

Pretoria Capitals Fall of wickets: 1-69 (Philip Salt - 5.2 ov), 2-93 (Theunis de Bruyn - 9.1 ov), 3-126 (Rilee Rossouw - 12.1 ov), 4-183 (Kusal Mendis - 16.4 ov), 5-226 (Colin Ingram - 19.6 ov)

Paarl Royals Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Paul Stirling - 2.5 ov), 2-30 (Jason Roy - 3.3 ov), 3-38 (Mitchell Van Buuren - 5.2 ov), 4-67 (Eoin Morgan - 8.2 ov), 5-101 (David Miller - 13.4 ov), 6-115 (Andile Phehlukwayo - 15.3 ov), 7-115 (Evan Jones - 15.5 ov), 8-153 (Jos Buttler - 18.4 ov), 9-163 (Bjorn Fortuin - 19.3 ov)

Playing XIs

Pretoria Capitals: Philip Salt(WK), Kusal Mendis, Theunis de Bruyn(C), Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Jimmy Neesham, Senuran Muthusamy, Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje

Paarl Royals: Jason Roy, Paul Stirling, Jos Buttler(WK), Mitchell Van Buuren, David Miller(C), Eoin Morgan, Evan Jones, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Codi Yusuf, Lungi Ngidi

Match Details:

Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2023 15:30

Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion

Toss: Paarl Royals won the toss & elected to field