Jones and Fortuin lead Paarl Royals to a win, and JSK ends a string of losses.
- After losing on the road against the Durban Super Giants, Paarl Royals bounced back with a 10-run triumph at home. The Royals posted a respectable 169/6 at the Boland Park in Paarl on Tuesday, led by Wihan Lubbe’s 36-ball 57 and with good contributions from Jos Buttler and David Miller (January 17). Despite Heinrich Klaasen’s unbroken 56 off 39, the Super Giants lost wickets frequently in the chase and ended up with 159/8. Bjorn Fortuin (3-14) and Evan Jones (4-32) took important cuts.
- Within the first three overs, the Super Giants got off to a good start with two boundaries from Kyle Mayers and a six from Wiaan Mulder. By the end of the fifth over, however, they were reduced to 29/3 after Bjorn Fortuin had bowled Quinton de Kock and trapped Dwaine Pretorius lbw off consecutive deliveries, and Mayers had been caught and bowled. Despite Mulder’s six off Tabraiz Shamsi, the Super Giants were only able to put up 37 runs in the powerplay thanks to the early exits.
- The Super Giants were already in a precarious position at 78/5 when Klaasen blasted three fours off Shamsi in the tenth over. However, Jason Holder, who had earlier hit Evan Jones for a six, soon fell, putting the Super Giants in even more jeopardy. Both Klaasen and Christiaan Jonker attempted to restart the innings, but Jones was able to take Jonker’s wicket for his second of the day. Keshav Maharaj scored 17 runs on three fours, but Jones took his and Hardus Viljoen’s wickets in quick succession, reducing the Super Giants to 33 runs for 12 deliveries.
After bringing up his fifty off 36 balls, Klaasen hit a six off Ngidi to end the 19th over, which produced 14 runs. Jones bowled a tight last over, allowing only six runs off his first four deliveries (including a leg-bye), so the Super Giants needed two massive knocks to force extra innings. After Jones bowled a wide to make it 12 off 2, the Super Giants’ hopes rested on Prenelan Subrayen, but he came up short. - Earlier, the Royals were put in to bat but got off to a sluggish start, losing Jason Roy to a Viljoen bowl in the third over. Then Buttler joined the fun, smashing Reece Topley for four and six to reach the T20 milestone of 9000 runs. Before Lubbe took on Maharaj and reverse-swept the spinner for four and six in the seventh over, the Royals scored only 43 in the power play. Their 53 runs together came to an end when Buttler was out caught behind by Maharaj while batting at number two.
- Lubbe’s consistent boundary hitting kept the Royals in the game after they had reached 72 runs at the midway point, as did his six over long leg off Topley in the 16th over to bring up his fifty off 33 balls. However, he went down the same way, crashing onto the stumps from the inside. Soon after, Pretorius took Eoin Morgan’s wicket, but Miller’s contributions of 24 (two fours and a six) helped the Royals score rapidly in the final over. The Royals scored 50 runs in the final five overs despite losing Miller to Pretorius in the final over. They ultimately fell short of 170.
- The final result was Paarl Royals 169, Jos Buttler 35, and Dwaine Pretorius 2-25 versus the Durban Super Giants 159, Heinrich Klaasen 56 not out, Evan Jones 4-32, and Bjorn Fortuin 3-14.
Matchup: Pretoria Capitals vs. Johannesburg Super Kings
- The Johannesburg Super Kings’ first-ever game at the legendary Wanderers helped them beat the Pretoria Capitals by six runs and end a losing streak of two games in a row. After having trouble scoring runs on two-paced batting surfaces, JSK relied heavily on Leus du Plooy’s quick-fire 75 to help them reach 168. The Capitals’ comeback attempt was derailed when Aaron Phangiso went 4 for 32, leading to JSK’s second victory of the year.
- Capitals opted to field knowing full well the batting weaknesses of the opposition and the customary advantage of chasing in T20s. After a cautious start, Reeza Hendricks and Faf du Plessis scored 45 runs in seven overs before du Plessis was out for 27 off of 16 balls, caught by Anrich Nortje. The JSK commander had at least provided a launching pad for du Plooy. He then proceeded to hit the first ball. The JSK No. 3 hit 75 off 40 balls, including five sixes and seven fours, which helped cancel out Hendricks’ relatively slow innings (45 runs off 50 balls). Even though JSK faltered after that and was limited to 168 (mostly due to Eathan Bosch’s 3 for 12), they still had a respectable total in this matchup.
- Phil Salt and Will Jacks got the Capitals off to a fast start, adding 30 runs in the opening three overs, but then Alzarri Joseph removed both of them in quick succession. After James Neesham blasted three sixes off of his opening over, Phangiso struck three times in his first 13 balls, totally swinging the game in JSK’s favor. The New Zealander was the fourth man he had to dismiss.
- Even though the Capitals were still in pursuit (needing 27 off 18; then 20 off 12; then 10 off 6), Romario Shepherd ended it in the final over by dismissing Adil Rashid and Anrich Nortje to restore the mood in the yellow camp.
- Short scores: Pretoria Capitals 162 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 29, James Neesham 24; Aaron Phangiso 4-32) lost to Johannesburg Super Kings 168/6 in 20 overs (Leus du Plooy 75, Reeza Hendricks 45; Eathan Bosch 3-12) by 6 runs.
