James Middlebrook (England), Stephen Harris (South Africa), Bongani Jele (South Africa, TV)
Referee
Gerrie Pienaar (South Africa)
Toss
Pretoria Capitals elected to bat
Pitch Report
A lot drier surface. It has a bit of a mosaic effect and there is some grass. There is a tinge of green on it. Eight games have been won batting first, three of them batting second. The average score is 190 here batting first. No doubts, should bat first here with no rain today
VENUE STATS
1st Innings
167Avg Runs
7Avg Wkts
143.67Avg
SR
2nd Innings
146Avg Runs
5Avg Wkts
142.11Avg
SR
Weather Update
Weather Update
Centurion,South Africa
Updated: 18 Jan 20:00
26.9°CClouds
overcast clouds
77%
Clouds
8%
Rain %
47%
Humidity
1.1 kmph
Wind
Playing XILineups Out
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Venue Details
SuperSport Park, Centurion
A lot drier surface. It has a bit of a mosaic effect and there is some grass. There is a tinge of green on it. Eight games have been won batting first, three of them batting second. The average score is 190 here batting first. No doubts, should bat first here with no rain today
The commentary is not available for this match. Please check the scorecard for latest updates.
And that'll be it! The Paarl Royals go up to the top of the table but their stay there might be short-lived as we have our second match of the day coming up. Switch tabs to catch all the live action from MI Cape Town vs Joburg Super Kings! Until then, this is Maanas and Lavil signing off.
David Miller (Paarl Royals captain): I thought it was a really good wicket. The last over was really unlucky for us but it takes the wind out of you if you take 24 runs off the last over. We wanted to take it as deep as possible and here anything is possible. Tactical changes and nice when it works out.
Rilee Rossouw (Pretoria Capitals captain): We knew it would be a decent wicket. Credit to the Royals, they never gave us the chance. Two experienced players - they finished it. In our team we have a lot of experience. These guys have the cricket brains that I can always turn to. We weren't up to the standards and it's something we can definitely address. They played superbly well. That is cricket.
Joe Root is the Player of the Match for his unbeaten knock of 92 runs!
Here's what he had to say:
It's a great tournament, it's great to have the opportunity to play here. (On batting with Miller) Our middle order is full of experience. We can bounce off each other. He's gone on and won games so many times from those positions. I just got down with the mindset that we can chase. It was not about panicking. Build in the powerplay and get ahead on the run-rate and try and stay in control of the chase. You can chase anything here.
Paarl Royals 213/2 (19.4) beat Pretoria Capitals 212/5 (20) by 8 wickets (2 balls to spare)
Will Smeed 54(34) | Kyle Verreynne 45 (23) | Mujeeb ur Rahman 2-28(4)
Joe Root 92*(60) | Rubin Hermann 56(33) | David Miller 48*(24)
The Paarl Royals get over the line in the end, quite a dramatic finish but they have paced the chase pretty well. They will not be taking the bonus point from this match but will certainly be content with the four points that they will take away from this match, and the record of the BIGGEST CHASE IN SA20 HISTORY!
It didn't start in the best of manners for the Royals, with their hard-hitting opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius chipping one back to Jacks right off the first delivery of the innings. However, from then on it was the Royals all along.
Joe Root notched up a sensational half-century and anchored the innings, while Rubin Hermann's quick-fire fifty gave them a boost in the middle overs when the field got spread out.
Desperate for a wicket, the Capitals' skipper tossed the ball to Jimmy Neesham, who broke the 125-run partnership, using his variations to good effect. However, it was the Royals' skipper David Miller who came to the crease and started firing right from the get-go.
The Capitals' bowlers had a poor outing today and apart from perhaps Will Jacks, the others didn't have anything to write home about. Tiaan van Vuuren bowled a terrific penultimate over and kept the Capitals in the game but there were just not enough to defend. The Capitals will be disappointed with this performance today while the Royals make their way to the top of the table with this win!
19.4 Jimmy Neesham to David Miller, DROPPED! BUT MILLER WINS IT FOR THE ROYALS! Joy and celebration for Miller, agony for Ackerman. Length delivery outside the off stump, Miller hadn't timed that one nicely and "catch" was the wall when it was high in the air. Marques Ackerman was under that one but he shells it and that allows the pair to take a brace and end the game. Paarl Royals beat Pretoria Capitals by 8 wickets.
19.3 Jimmy Neesham to Joe Root, full and on the off stump. Root pushes it down to mid-off for a single
Around the wicket now
19.2 Jimmy Neesham to David Miller, full and on the middle stump. Miller knocks it towards short fine leg and the pair take a quick single
19.1 Jimmy Neesham to David Miller, FOUR! MILLER EASES THE PRESSURE! Length delivery outside off, it keeps low and Miller hits it towards deep backward square leg fence for a boundary. Shaves half of what was needed to win, 4 needed now
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SuperSport Park, Centurion
Video
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