Maharaj leads the squeeze as Capitals clinch low-scoring clash

Pretoria Capitals notched a stunning victory against the odds at Boland Park to prevail over the in-form Paarl Royals. Having scored only a meagerly 138 for 9 in their 20 overs, the disciplined Capitals' bowlers restricted the hosts to just 117 for 6 on a tough pitch to bat on. It is the second-lowest total successfully defended in SA20 history. The Capitals have now won three of their last four games and have ended the Royals' three-match winning streak.

The coin fell on the right side for the Capitals as they elected to bat first in Paarl. But the openers found the runs tough to come by at the start. Connor Estherhuizen finally picked one off Hardus Viljoen for six but fell next ball. Shai Hope scored a couple of boundaries but Jordan Cox fell cheaply before the end of the PowerPlay. Lawrence picked up two in an over, including that of Hope, as the Capitals slipped from 51 for 2 to 51 for 4. A couple of sixes helped the Capitals' cause through Roston Chase and Dewald Brevis but the in-form Sikandar Raza had the former bowled as the Royals continued to peg the Capitals back.

Raza picked up Brevis in the 12th over as the going got tougher for the Capitals. With the Royals turning to only spin from the seventh to 16th over, Sherfane Rutherford had to dig in at the crease. He found two boundaries off Dan Lawrence before pulling Nqobani Mokoena for a six as the Capitals brought up the 100 in the 17th over. Rutherford found the boundary in the next two overs as Capitals registered 22 runs in the 18th and 19th over. The West Indian then smashed two sixes in the final over to take 14 off it and drag the Capitals to 138.

The hosts then lost Lhuan-dre Pretorius cheaply for a duck in the chase after Lungi Ngidi trapped him LBW. Asa Tribe and Rubin Hermann put on a 32-run stand that consisted of five boundaries before the former was strangled down the legside. Wihan Lubbe picked up Lawrence as the Royals slipped to 39 for 3. The set Hermann hit two crucial boundaries before Daivd Miller smashed a six off Lubbe in an important 16-run over for the Royals.

But to the Royals' dismay, Hermann was trapped plumb in front by Keshav Maharaj for 35. The Royals were going nowhere after 15 overs, still needing 60 from the last five overs but Miller smashed two maximums off Ngidi in a 16-run over. Maharaj picked up Raza as he ended his spell with figures of 2 for 14 but Miller brought the equation to 34 off the last two overs. Ngidi bowled a superb penultimate over conceding just five runs before Miller holed out to long-off against Lizaad Williams as the Capitals completed a resounding victory.

Brief Scores: Pretoria Capitals 138/9 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 42, Shai Hope 22; Sikandar Raza 2-14, Dan Lawrence 2-19) beat Paarl Royals 117/6 in 20 overs (David Miller 45, Rubin Hermann 35; Keshav Maharaj 2-14, Gideon Peters 1-11) by 21 runs