The Paarl Royals continued their dominance in the SA20 league with a convincing five-wicket victory over the Durban Super Giants at Kingsmead. This win extended their lead at the top of the standings, leaving them four points clear of MI Cape Town.
The Royals’ top order came out all guns blazing during the powerplay, racing to 70 runs in the first six overs of their innings. Led by the explosive batting of 18-year-old opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Rubin Hermann, who scored 25 off 13 balls and 44 off 22 respectively, the Royals set the tone for their chase of 143 runs.
Despite the Super Giants’ efforts to peg them back, particularly through spinner Keshav Maharaj who conceded just 20 runs in his four overs, the early onslaught by the Royals’ top order proved too much to handle. Mitchell van Buuren and captain David Miller then combined for a crucial 59-run partnership for the fourth wicket, guiding the Royals to victory with 15 balls to spare.
In the Super Giants’ innings, Quinton de Kock and Matthew Breetzke provided a solid start with a 63-run opening stand. However, wickets fell at regular intervals, with the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Bjorn Fortuin making key breakthroughs. Wiaan Mulder and JJ Smuts tried to rebuild the innings with a 59-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but late wickets restricted the hosts to 142/7.
Both teams will be back in action in upcoming SA20 matches, with the Royals taking on the Pretoria Capitals in Paarl, while the Super Giants will face MI Cape Town at Newlands. The competition in the league continues to intensify as teams battle it out for supremacy on the cricket field.
