Match in a Glimpse:
Coming off a defeat at Boland Park, we played MI Cape Town next in our last game before the break. Will Jacks was the star for us once again, as we became the first team to defend our total at Newlands.
We (Will) Rock You:
In our last match before the break, we travelled to the scenic Newlands for a battle against MI Cape Town. Down but not out after our loss against Paarl Royals, we were prepared to put on our best foot forward and seal our spot at the top of the SA20 table.
MICT’s skipper Rashid Khan called it right at the toss and we were put to bat first. We had our heart-in-our-mouth twice in the first two overs when Kusal Mendis and Will Jacks were dropped by Rashid Khan and Rassie van der Dussen respectively.
This proved to be detrimental for the home team. Both our openers went on to a flying start smashing boundaries all around Newlands and racing us towards 84/0 - the highest score in the powerplay in SA20.
MI Cape Town Pull the Breaks:
Kusal Mendis lost his wicket to a Rashid Khan delivery after George Linde took the catch, right at the fence. Will Jacks raced to a 19-ball 62 before he edged a delivery by Odean Smith to get caught behind.
Rilee Rossouw got a tricky delivery and was out LBW by Rashid Khan. Soon after, Senuran Muthuswamy was dismissed by Jofra Archer with a ripper.
Theunis de Bruyn continued his form from our last game. He was ably assisted by debutant Clyde Fortuin. The partnership was broken when Rashid Khan got his third of the evening and 500th T20 wicket when he sent Cape Town-born Fortuin back to the pavilion.
We continued to lose wickets in the slog overs as Archer dismissed de Bruyn and Parnell in quick succession. Jimmy Neesham unleashed some fireworks towards the end smashing Kagiso Rabada for consecutive boundaries. We ended our 20 overs with 183 to defend.
Dewald Y-U-Do-Dis (Again):
It was Eathan Bosch once again who got the first breakthrough for us by taking out Ryan Rickleton before he could prove dangerous. Young guns Dewald Brevis and Sam Curran displayed their batting prowess by scoring 16 runs in the final over of the powerplay.
Our Hoover Adil Rashid came into the attack in the next over and spun his magic web around his English counterpart to break the partnership. On the other end, there was no stopping Brevis who kept the scoreboard ticking for MI Cape Town and got them to 74/2 in 10 overs.
We Roar Saam More, ALWAYS:
Slip-ups while fielding did not help our cause after a missed run-out chance for Dewald Brevis and van der Dussen, was dropped at fine leg. We turned to our man with proven experience, Anrich Nortje who broke the game open by leaving Brevis clueless with a slower ball (which was still 133 kmph).
Skipper Parnell’s belief in Will Jacks’ bowling proved right once again after the Englishman got George Linde out. Quick wickets of Rassie van der Dussen and Grant Roelofsen brought us back into the game, courtesy of Adil Rashid and Wayne Parnell. Our captain doubled his wicket count in the same over by cleaning out Odean Smith.
Nortje’s twin strikes in the 18th over to send back Rashid Khan and Jofra Archer made sure that we were in complete control of the game. Parnell wrapped up the MI Cape Town innings by dismissing Kagiso Rabada, ensuring that we win the match by 52 runs and earning a bonus point.
With this win over MI Cape Town, we head into the break with 23 points as guaranteed table-toppers in the SA20. The boys will look forward to rejuvenating after a hectic schedule before heading back home to Pretoria for the remainder of the league.
Brief Scores: Pretoria Capitals: 182/8 (20), Will Jacks - 62(27), Theunis de Bruyn - 36(26), Rashid Khan - 3/16, Jofra Archer - 3/37 defeated MI Cape Town: 130 (20), Dewald Brevis - 46 (30), Rassie van der Dussen - 24(25), Wayne Parnell - 3/14, Anrich Nortje - 3/22.
Player of the Match: Will Jacks
Up Next: See you soon, we’re off for a break! Until then, cheer for the Proteas as they take on England in a 3-match ODI series at home
