Match 11 of the SA20 2024 witnessed the Paarl Royals locking horns with MI Cape Town. The contest, which took place at the Newlands Cricket Ground, altered the two teams’ positions on the points table.
Paarl fell to an unwanted defeat, and they have dropped to second place. They had entered the match as the first-ranked team, having notched up three successive wins.
The Royals are equal on points with table-toppers Durban’s Super Giants, but a slight dip in their net run rate has seen them drop to second spot. Notably, the Jos Buttler-led side have 13 points and an NRR of 0.772.
On the other hand, MI Cape Town registered their second win of the season, which helped them go up a spot. They now sit in third place, with two wins and as many losses. Kieron Pollard and Co. have nine points and an NRR of 1.566. The SunRisers Eastern Cape have swapped with Cape Town and are now fourth.
MI Cape Town win their second match of the SA20 2024 season
After winning the toss, Pollard elected to chase. His bowlers conceded an about-par target of 173 runs, which was later chased down by his batters comfortably.
The Royals openers gave them a solid start, with a 14-ball 38 from Jason Roy and a 31-ball 46 by skipper Buttler. David Miller and Mitchell van Buuren scored 20 and 28 respectively in the middle order.
Notably, Paarl lost eight wickets to the Capitals. Thomas Kaber registered a splendid three-wicket haul, while Olly Stone, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada and Sam Curran bagged a wicket apiece.
During Cape Town’s chase, openers Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton made a 28-ball 41 and a 52-ball 94* respectively. Rickelton's unbeaten knock was the primary reason behind MI’s second win of the season that moved them up on the points table.
Tabraiz Shamsi was the only Royals bowler to pick up wickets as he sent back Van der Dussen and top-order batter Dewald Brevis. However, it did not help his team much as the rest of the bowlers failed to provide early breakthroughs. Lungi Ngidi, Obed McCoy and Andile Phehlukwayo had economy rates of 10.96, 10.33 and 12.50 respectively.
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