Paarl Royals on Saturday (January 25) created history during their match against Pretoria Capitals in the ongoing SA20 2025.
They became the first team in T20 cricket franchise to play an entire innings of 20 overs using only wheels. The move also paid off as they managed to defend a modest total of 140 points and beat the Pretoria Capitals by 11 points.
Bowling first, Pretoria Capitals used pacers in tandem on a pitch where spinners were more effective. As a result, the Paarl Royals batsmen managed to keep the scoreboard at a good pace. Out of the 20 overs, the Capitals bowled a total of 11 overs by the spinners.
On the other hand, Royals completely relied on the spinners to deliver the 20 overs and were duly rewarded. Bjorn Fortuin, Dunith WellalageMujeeb Ur Rahman, Nqabayomzi Peter and Joe Root bowled with four overs each. Fortuin, Mujeeb and Root took two wickets each while Wellalage claimed one wicket.
Spinners help Paarl Royals to fifth straight win:
Asked to bat first, Paarl Royals posted a competitive total of 140/4. At one stage they were reeling at 41/3 but managed to recover thanks to an unbeaten fifty from Joe Root. Things could have been very different for the Royals had James Neesham not made a blunder in the field and given Root a reprieve when he was just 13.
Neesham had taken Root's catch but the ball slipped out of his hands after a few seconds. Finally, the third umpire gave his decision in favor of the batsman. Root made the most of the opportunity and went on to score an unbeaten 78 on a tough pitch.
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In reply, Pretoria Capitals ended their innings on 129/7. Opener Will Jacks scored a fighting fifty but did not get good support from the other end. The Capitals got off to a bad start and found themselves down 23/3 after the powerplay.
Jacks and Kyle Verreynne then shared 77 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter departed for 30. Once the stand was broken, the Capitals innings derailed again and they eventually finished on 129 for 7.
The win helped the Royals further consolidate their position at the top of the points table. The win was their fifth straight and sixth in seven games. On the other hand, Pretoria Capitals are in fifth place with just one win from seven matches.