Pretoria Capitals to SA20 final after defeated Paarl Royals

• Rilee Rossouw opened the scoring with a 41-ball 56.
• Rossouw’s heroic fifty assisted Pretoria Capitals in reaching 153/8.
• The Royals got off to a bad start as opener Jason Roy was struck out.

Rilee Rossouw opened the scoring on Wednesday with a 41-ball 56 before the bowlers took over and guided Pretoria Capitals to the SA20 final after they defeated Paarl Royals by 29 runs.

After being given the opportunity to bat, Rossouw’s heroic fifty assisted Pretoria Capitals in reaching a respectable score of 153/8 in the allotted 20 overs.

In response, Paarl Royals were bowled out for just 124 runs, courtesy to the outstanding team effort of the Capitals’ bowlers.

Capitals kept Paarl Royals’ batting line in flux throughout the chase thanks to two wickets each from Eathan Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Adil Rashid, and James Neesham.

After crushing the Royals by 59 runs in Centurion on Wednesday, the Capitals proved to be a far better side on the second day.

However, the Capitals’ victory was made more difficult by a different surface in Johannesburg, which gave something to both fast bowlers and spinners. With Phil Salt, Kusal Mendis, and stand-in skipper Theunis de Bruyn back in camp, they were reduced to 51/3 in the ninth over.

Rossouw then held the fort, but received little help from the opposite side, as Colin Ingram and James Neesham were killed in quick succession. However, the left-hander maintained his tempo and displayed some fireworks in the late overs, hitting Lungi Ngidi for four boundaries in the 18th over.

The Royals, on the other hand, got off to a bad start as opener Jason Roy was struck out on the first pitch of the game. On the first ball of his second over, Bosch delivered a deadly jolt, dismissing the in-form Jos Buttler.

After clubbing three fours and a six, Paul Stirling was trapped LBW soon after the powerplay off Adil Rashid, who then went on to hunt Dane Vilas with a googly to leave Paarl 72/4 after 10 overs.

Despite brief contributions from Eoin Morgan (17 from 13) and David Miller (31 from 27), the Royals never seemed in control of the game and gave away the chase in the process.

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