Dewald Brevis stole the show as MI Cape Town comfortably eased past Paarl Royals by eight wickets in the Betway SA20 opener at a sold-out Newlands on Tuesday night.
The Newlands crowd were in high spirits before the toss after being entertained by a spectacular show from Sho Madjozi and Master KG.
The entertainment continued once the game started as the home side drew first blood when MI Cape Town’s Jofra Archer dismissed Wihan Lubbe with the help of a brilliant diving catch from George Linde.
The Boland side settled down after the initial setback through English duo Jos Buttler and Jason Roy as the pair put on 36 runs for the second wicket before Roy (13) was dismissed by Duan Jansen.
Buttler, though, continued to keep the Royals’ innings ticking over as he produced a sparkling half-century before being dismissed for 51(42), while captain David Miller knocked 42 off 31 balls as the Royals closed on 142 for seven.
Archer was the standout MI Cape Town bowler with figures of 3-27, while Olly Stone claimed 2-37.
MI Cape Town opening batters Brevis and Ryan Rickelton did not waste time in the run chase as they hit the ground running.
The pair reached the end of the Powerplay in a comfortable position with MI Cape Town moving to 88 without loss.
However, the Royals managed the breakthrough they were looking for after breaking the 90-run partnership as Rickelton departed for 42 (33 balls).
It was a mere blip for the Royals as Brevis entertained the Newlands faithful with sweet strikes down the ground as he finished unbeaten on 70 off just 41 balls (4x4, 6x5) as MI Cape Town opened their Betway SA20 account in emphatic fashion.