Paarl Royals created history during their game against Pretoria Capitals in the ongoing SA20 2025 on Saturday (January 25).
They became the first team in Franchise T20 Cricket to close out all the innings in 20 overs using only the needles. The move too, as they managed to defend a modest total of 140 runs and beat Pretoria Capitals by 11 runs.
Initially Bowling, the Pretoria capitals used pacers in tandem on a pitch where spinners were more effective. As a result, Paarl Royals Batters managed to keep the scoreboard at a good level. 20 overs, Capitals bowled just 11 overs by the spinner.
On the other hand, royals completely relied on the spinners to deliver 20 overs and were duly rewarded. Bjorn Fortuin, Dunith Wildage, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, NQabayomzi Peter and Joe Root each crossed four. Fortuin, mujeeb and root took two wickets while wildalage claimed one wicket each.
Spinners Paus Paarl Royals win fifth in a row:
Batting first, Paarl Royals posted a competitive total of 140/4. They were reeling at 41/3 at one stage but managed to recover thanks to a fifty from Joe Root. Things could have been very different if Royals James Neesham hadn’t made a mistake in the field and gotten a reprieve when he was just 13 years old.
Neesham took root, but the ball slipped from his hands a few seconds later. In the end, the third river decided in favor of sinking. Kok made the most of the chance and went on to score an unbeaten 78 on a tough pitch.
Also Read: Watch: James Neesham does a herschelle gibbs, oddly dripping Joe root in SA20
In reply, Pretoria Capitals ended their innings at 129/7. Tellingly, the jacks would hit fifty fights, but he didn’t get good support from the other end. The Capitals recovered from a poor start and were repeating at 23/3 after the power play.
Jacks and Kyle Verreynne shared 77 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter departed for 30. After the stands were broken, the Capitals’ innings was relayed again, eventually ending at 129 for 129.
The win helped the Royals further increase their position at the top of the points table. The win was the fifth in a row and sixth in seven games. On the other hand, Pretoria capitals are sounding in fifth place with just one win from seven games.
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