A brilliant all-round performance from exciting young talent Dewald Brevis helped MI Cape Town clinch a comfortable 27-run win over the Pretoria Capitals to dump the hosts out of the Betway SA20 in their match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Friday night.
The Capitals had to win to stay in the SA20 playoff hunt, with just one round of pool fixtures remaining, but they were unable to do so, as the visitors put in a solid effort, led by a top batting performance that has now seen them move to the top of the table.
Brevis was deservedly named player of the match after he started off by starring with the bat as he plundered an unbeaten 73 off 32 balls, launching six fours and six sixes to help his team to a daunting 222/3 in their 20 overs batting first.
He then bowled one over during the Capitals chase, and although it went for 12 runs, his first ball saw the back of Will Smeed, who at the time was keeping the hosts in the game, out for 52 off 36 (9x4).
To top it all off a few overs later he threw a bullet throw from the boundary to keeper Ryan Rickelton, allowing him to easily run out the dangerous Ashton Turner for 22 off eight (1x4; 2x6) which effectively ended the slim chance they still had of chasing down the score.
The Capitals chase got off to a poor start when opener Steve Stolk (13) skied a ball from Trent Boult to Rashid Khan at mid-off leaving them on 15/1 in the third over.
But Smeed and opener Will Jacks, 39 off 22 (5x4; 1x6) tore into the rest of the powerplay, including smashing 20 off the sixth over from Boult, putting them well in the hunt at 67/1 by the end of it.
They extended their second wicket stand to 72-runs, and at 87/2 in the 10th over, were well on track to chase down the big total.
Corbin Bosch then made the big breakthrough, having Jacks caught at long-on, followed in the next over by captain Kyle Verreynne (1), bowled by Khan, and all of a sudden the Capitals were teetering on 94/3.
Another quick two wickets a few overs later, saw Smeed fall, followed by Marques Ackermann (8), also bowled by Khan, and at 127/5 in the 14th over the game looked to be done.
Turner and young Keagan Lion-Cachet, 34no off 18 (2x4; 2x6) briefly threatened to stage a comeback with a quickfire 32-run partnership off just 15 balls, but once Turner departed the chase was over and the Capitals finished their 20 overs well short on 195/8.
At the start of the game the Capitals won the toss and chose to bowl, but a strong batting performance, led by big half centuries from Reeza Hendricks and Brevis, put MI CT on top.
Hendricks cracked an unbeaten 77 off 44 balls, hitting four fours and five sixes, and shared in a monster unbeaten 142-run fourth wicket partnership with Brevis.
The MI CT innings got off to a great start thanks to some lusty striking from the in form Rickelton, 22 of 13 (4x4; 1x6), and Rassie van der Dussen, 30 off 20 (1x4; 3x6) as they raced to 31/0 after three overs.
Tom Rogers got the breakthrough in the fifth over, getting the ball to nip in and beat the swing of Rickelton to castle him, with the score 45/1, which moved to 54/1 by the end of the powerplay.
First ball after the powerplay saw the back of Van Der Dussen as he launched Gideon Peters out to deep midwicket where Stolk settled under it and took the catch.
Hendricks and Colin Ingram, 16 off 12 (2x4; 1x6), combined for a 26-run third wicket stand, which included Ingram smashing Senuran Muthusamy out of the park, only to fall next ball, with the bowler taking a top one handed grab, leaving them on 80/3.
This brought Brevis to the crease, and having reached the halfway stage on 87/3, it was then the Hendricks and Brevis show over the second half of the innings as they absolutely tucked into the Capitals bowlers.
Migael Pretorius in particular came in for some tap, after his third over went for 15 runs, his 12th and 17th overs disappeared for 19 runs each, and his 19th over was thumped for 16, leaving him with unflattering figures of 0/69 in his four overs.
He wasn’t the only one to get hammered, as the last over from Rogers was clubbed for 18 runs which left him with figures of 1/54 from his four, while Peters ended on 1/43, and only spinners Jacks, 0/22, and Muthusamy, 1/34, managed to go at under 10 an over.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Will Jacks, Steve Stolk, Will Smeed, Kyle Verreynne (capt, wk), Marques Ackermann, Ashton Turner, Keagan Lion-Cachet, Senuran Muthusamy, Tom Rogers, Migael Pretorius, Gideon Peters
MI CAPE TOWN: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Colin Ingram, Dewald Brevis, Delano Potgieter, Corbin Bosch, Azmatullah Ormazai, Rashid Khan (capt), Trent Boult, Matthew Potts