Mitchell van Buuren was in fine form as he registered a quality 44 off 45 to lead Paarl Royals to a six-wicket victory over the Joburg Super Kings in their Betway SA20 match at Boland Park on Monday night. The victory transplanted the Royals from second to first place on the table.
David Miller, the Royals' captain, placed trust in his batters after winning the toss and electing to bowl first. His attack did well to restrict the visitors to 146 for six. The Royals then needed 19.1 overs to score 150 for four. This is the Royals’ third win in three games at home this season.
“We've got an adaptable squad and we play according to the conditions and the last two years we started really well and finished badly, and that is something we keep in mind and we have all bases covered for now,” Miller shared after the encounter.
Van Buuren wore his running shoes on the night. He scored a mere two fours and ran close to 25 singles and five twos for his splendid 44. Van Buuren played the holding role for a major part of the chase. His calm approach helped the others to play their natural game and more importantly, helped them stay ahead of the required run rate.
Van Buuren shared a match-winning 71-run fourth-wicket partnership with Miller. His innings ended when he sent the ball down Leus du Plooy's throat at long off while trying to play a big shot.
The pair shared the crease for just under 10 overs as they set the Royals up for victory. Miller saw the side home with an unbeaten 40 off 32, succeeding where his erstwhile partner failed, closing the innings with a big six off Lutho Sipamla's bowling.
Bairstow set the template for batting on the surface with his outstanding half-century. The Englishman played a patient innings on his way to a 40-ball 60. He scored his first 30 runs at close to a run-a-ball.
The 35-year-old faced 27 deliveries before he scored a boundary. He turned the innings on its head in the penultimate over when he hammered Kwena Maphaka for 21 runs as he raced to a 36-ball half-century, his maiden 50 for the Super Kings.
However, Lhuan-dre Pretorius strode out and demonstrated a different manner to ensure victory. Pretorius has smashed the most sixes in the tournament, with a tally of 16 to his name. It would have gone up to 17 had his ball been a few centimetres in either side of Sipamla at backward square leg.
“I thought the guys at the top batted really well and got us off to a good start,” Miller shared.
Faf du Plessis opted to take the opposite path to Miller. The Royals' captain led with spin, delivering a single over of pace in the first 10 overs. The result was a throttling of Joburg Super Kings' run rate during the first half of the innings.
“I thought we had a competitive score, but 15-20 short maybe. They took wickets early on and put us on the back foot,” Player of the Match Bairstow shared after the encounter.
The Super Kings led with pace and the decision reaped rewards for the visitors. Hardus Viljoen snared a couple of wickets for them in the powerplay, accounting for Joe Root and Pretorius. The Royals' opening pair has been the bedrock of their victories. They came into the match having contributed around 60 per cent of the Royals' runs.
However, the downside was that they conceded quick runs early in the innings. Pretorius hit 27 off 14 in an entertaining innings that set his side up for a less pressured chase. The Super Kings scored at a rate of 5.4 runs an over in the first 15 overs and were on 81 for five. They upped the tempo and bludgeoned 65 runs in the last five overs to reach a respectable total. The Royals had no need to take risks at the back-end, needing to score at around a run-a-ball from the 11th over.
Hardus Viljoen starred for Paarl Royals with the ball, taking two wickets for 23 runs in four overs. Imran Tahir and Donovan Ferreira took a wicket each.
Earlier in the day, the Royals put the Super Kings through trial by spin. Miller deployed his spinners to bowl 16 overs of spin. Bjorn Fortuin sent down three overs in the powerplay and he set the tone with two wickets. The left-arm tweaker is the leading wicket-taker in the first six overs in the tournament and he extended his lead over other bowlers by taking his tally to 18. He accounted for Du Plessis and Devon Conway.
Bairstow combined with Sibonelo Makhanya to consolidate and rebuild with a steady 36-run fifth-wicket partnership. However, their key partnership was between Bairstow and Ferreira. They shared a 67-run sixth wicket partnership that steered them past 100 and towards 146. Donovan smashed three boundaries for his unbeaten 32 off 19.
However, it was all too little to guarantee victory, thanks to the Royals' outstanding bowling attack. Fortuin was Paarl Royals' most successful bowler with two wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Root, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Galiem took a wicket each.
PAARL ROYALS: Joe Root, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rubin Hermann, David Miller (capt), Mitchell Van Buuren, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dunith Wellalage, Dayyaan Galiem, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka.
JOBURG SUPER KINGS: Faf du Plessis (capt), Devon Conway, Leus du Plooy, Johnny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Donovan Ferreira, Sibonelo Makhanya, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Hardus Viljoen, Lutho Sipamla.