Paarl Royals pip MI Cape Town by one run in SA20

Paarl (South Africa), Jan 3 (PTI) Lhuan-dre Pretorius hammered 98 not out as Paarl Royals extended MI Cape Town’s winless streak by a narrow one-run victory in their SA20 encounter here.

Pretorius missed out on a personal milestone by a narrow margin but his 65-ball knock with 10 fours and a six pushed the Royals to a daunting total of 181 for three. In reply, MI Cape Town finished at 180 for eight.

Ryan Rickelton (36) and Rassie van der Dussen (59 off 42 balls; 2 fours, 5 sixes) got MI Cape Town off the blocks with a robust start as they added 77 runs for the first wicket inside eight overs in their chase.

However, MI Cape Town lost wickets in heaps once the partnership was broken, slipping to 118 for six by the 15th over as none among Nicholas Pooran (12), Jason Smith (1), Jacques Snyman (2) and Tom Moores (0) could make an impact.

It was Sikandar Raza (4-0-27-3) who caused the damage, dismissing Rickelton, Pooran and Moores in the middle overs to put the Royals in command.

MI Cape Town skipper Rashid Khan (35 off 18 balls; 2 fours, 3 sixes) then joined forces with George Linde (20 not out) with a 51-run partnership for the seventh wicket to revive his side.

With 15 runs needed off the final over, MI Cape Town lost two wickets in the final over in form of Rashid and Kagiso Rabada with Ottneil Baartman finishing with 4-0-51-4.

MI Cape Town needed seven more runs off the last two balls, but only managed a single off the penultimate delivery and a four off the last to finish one run short.

Earlier in the first half, the young Pretorius was in his elements to get the Royals off to a strong start.

With Asa Tribe (51 off 34 balls; 5 fours, 1 six) in tow, he put on 100 runs for the first wicket in 10.4 overs to set up a strong platform but the Royals did slow down in their second half.

Skipper David Miller, coming off a match-winning half-century in their last outing, managed 19 with three fours as the Royals finished at 180 for three.

Rashid was the pick among the bowlers for MI Cape Town, returning 4-0-31-2. PTI DDV ATK