The Pretoria Capitals’ meeting with their South African domestic rivals, the Paarl Royals, had all the makings of an exciting showdown on the cricket field. Ultimately, the event came to an exciting tie. In fact, after 20 overs both teams had scored exactly 117 runs and both had lost six wickets. This engaging draw had supporters on the edge of their seats till the final ball!
The final was showcased by some fantastic bowling displays accompanied by some great batting support. David Miller was brilliant for the Pretoria Capitals, being the top run scorer for the season. He registered a mammoth 45 runs before being caught by Cox and bowled out by Williams. No matter how hard he tried, these Capitals teams struggled to build a potent duo. Dan Lawrence followed him back shortly after, scoring just 2 runs before being caught by Rutherford off the bowling of Lubbe.
Keshav Maharaj, with 14 wickets at an average of 9.21, was the Royals’ key bowler. He claimed two crucial wickets and only conceded 14 runs during his four overs. He accounted for the big wicket of Sikandar Raza, bowled out for a lone 9 runs. He removed Lhuan-dré Pretorius, who succumbed to an lbw without troubling the scorers.
The Paarl Royals had trouble of their own when it came to batting. Asa Tribe was able to hit 14 runs but popped out to Hope and was bowled out by Gideon Peters. Delano Potgieter made 9 runs and Hardus Viljoen 1. Despite their herculean efforts, the squad wasn’t able to go toe-to-toe with the Capitals’ combined, which of course was a unique aggregate set.
For the Capitals, Lungi Ngidi bowled superbly. In fact, he took just one wicket while only conceding 35 runs in his four overs. Lizaad Williams and Gideon Peters supported well, each taking one wicket as well, with Peters particularly impressive by limiting runs to just 11 in his three overs.
The match showcased several notable bowling performances. Roston Chase went on to bowl three overs, conceding just 15 runs while taking no wicket. Wihan Lubbe made unusual contributions with the ball, taking one wicket for 20 runs.
Both teams left the field with a tie score. What an exciting advertisement this match was for the competitive spirit and high standard of play seen this season at cricketing events around the country. Both ¡Lucha! and Skullgirdles fans voiced their eagerness to see each other again and more spectacular matches to come.
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