“Very delighted, nice to get over the line. It was one of the wickets where we went with the spin and it worked out. I had too many options at one point, which was great,” said Royals captain David Miller.
“We had them by the throat, but the last two overs let us down, though that is the nature of the game. I thought it was a par score.”
It would have been a lot less were it not for England’s double World Cup-winner Jonny Bairstow (60 off 40 balls) and Donovan Ferreira’s unbeaten 32 off 19 balls that saw the Super Kings add 65 runs in the last five overs.
“I thought we had a competitive score after they took wickets early on — their bowlers put us on the back foot and fair play to them,” Bairstow said.
Paarl Royals jump to the top with third win at fortress Boland Park
Image: SportzPics/SA20
Paarl Royals' spinners continue to dominate at their Boland Park fortress to propel their team to the top of the Betway SA20 standings.
The Royals quartet of Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Joe Root and Dunith Wellalage spun a web around the Joburg Super Kings' batting unit to restrict the visitors to 146/6.
Fortuin (2/22) started the JSK slide with two wickets in the Powerplay that set the tone for Mujeeb (1/28) and the rest to follow.
The Royals (150/4) had little trouble completing a comfortable run-chase, strolling home with six wickets intact for their third win in succession at their home ground.
“Very delighted, nice to get over the line. It was one of the wickets where we went with the spin and it worked out. I had too many options at one point, which was great,” said Royals captain David Miller.
“We had them by the throat, but the last two overs let us down, though that is the nature of the game. I thought it was a par score.”
It would have been a lot less were it not for England’s double World Cup-winner Jonny Bairstow (60 off 40 balls) and Donovan Ferreira’s unbeaten 32 off 19 balls that saw the Super Kings add 65 runs in the last five overs.
“I thought we had a competitive score after they took wickets early on — their bowlers put us on the back foot and fair play to them,” Bairstow said.
“If you go a bit too early, then you might be five or six down early, but if you are brave enough to keep wickets for the back end to exploit the shorter side then you get rewards at the end.
“Having myself and Don with a bit of firepower to exploit the shorter side was great, but maybe 15 or 20 short.”
The competition’s leading run-scorer Lhuan-dre Pretorius certainly enjoys batting at his new home ground with the teenage opener adding another breezy 27 off 14 balls to his two half-centuries at the picturesque venue.
“The guys at the top batted really well and got us off to a good start, which got us ahead of the game,” Miller said.
There was a slight hiccup when seamer Hardus Viljoen (2/23) removed Pretorius and Joe Root in quick succession, but the Royals were always in control of the run chase.
Miller (40 not out off 32) again guided his team to victory. The Proteas batter has performed his “finisher” role to perfection this season and partnered with Mitchell van Buuren (44 off 45 balls) for a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Miller completed the job in fine style by smashing Lutho Sipamla for a huge maximum that has placed the Royals in prime position to secure a playoff spot.
“We’ve got an adaptable squad and we play according to the conditions. The last two years we started really well and finished badly and that is something we keep in mind and we have all bases covered for now,” he said.
SA20
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