Theunis de Bruyn’s half-century was overshadowed by the team’s overall performance as the Paarl Royals defeated the Pretoria Capitals by six wickets on Sunday at Boland Park in Paarl (January 22). The Paarl Royals came back from two straight losses to win with two deliveries remaining, earning their third victory in seven games. They needed 159 runs to win.
When the Capitals decided to bat, they lost Will Jacks early but Kusal Mendis and de Bruyn put together a quick 52-run partnership to set a solid foundation. After Mendis’s stay was interrupted by Tabraiz Shamsi, de Bruyn and Rilee Rossouw put up a strong stand that helped the Capitals reach 85/2 in the 11th over. However, it changed to 91/4 when Rossouw and Shane Dadswell abruptly retired. De Bruyn accelerated as he reached a 42-ball 50 on a track that was on the slower side and challenging for the batsmen when he was 21 off 26 at that point. However, disciplined bowling in the final four overs prevented the Pretoria Capitals from scoring more than 28 runs.
With a 48-run stand that occurred on the powerplay, Jason Roy and Wihan Lubbe launched the pursuit. Jos Buttler and Dane Vilas put on a 65-run stand in 49 deliveries despite the fact that both of their openers fell in short succession, keeping their team in charge of the run chase. The Capitals gained momentum as Will Jacks dismissed the set hitters in the 16th over, leaving the Royals needing 33 runs off the final four overs. There were no jitters as David Miller, with his 28 not out off 14, which contained three fours, and Mitchell Van Buuren, with a run-a-ball 12, got his team over the finish line in the last over.
