By CS Chiwanza.
Rain has stopped play at St George’s Park, Gqeberha, in the SA20 clash between the Eastern Cape Sunrisers and Durban Super Giants.
Asked to bat first, the Sunrisers were well placed on 170/2 after 16.4 overs when the rain came.
Playing conditions for the competition allow for an hour of play to be lost before overs start being deducted and targets reset.
Meanwhile a composed assault from David Miller at the death led Paarl Royals to a thrilling six-wicket win with two balls to spare in their Betway SA20 match against Pretoria Capitals at Boland Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Royals, who were chasing 159 runs to win after the Capitals had posted 158 after choosing to bat first, closed the match on 162 for four. The victory lifts the Royals to joint second, alongside their Cape neighbours, MI Cape Town.
The Royals’ run-chase took off as they would have liked. Openers Jason Roy (21) and Wihan Lubbe (29) came out of the blocks with the idea to put the bowlers under pressure.
For a large part of the PowerPlay, it looked like Jason Roy was finally going to pay back the faith shown in him by the Royals’ brains trust.
The Englishman was showing more intent and appeared to be getting back the confidence that made him a lethal opener. But as he did in the Royals’ third match where he scored 33, Roy had a start but failed to kick on.
The Royals’ chase appeared to be stalling when Wihan Lubbe was dismissed seven balls after Roy. But, England’s T20 World Cup-winning captain, Jos Buttler (37), seemed to have other ideas.
Buttler and his Lancashire teammate Dane Vilas (24) ran hard for their 65-run partnership. And just as it looked like the Royals were firmly in control of proceedings, Will Jacks took two wickets, dismissing Buttler and Vilas in a space of three deliveries to tilt the momentum in favour of the Capitals.
The game appeared in the balance as Miller was required to navigate the final overs in the company of the relatively inexperienced Mitchell van Buuren.
As he has done for the Proteas on many occasions, Miller single-handedly hauled the Royals past the finishing line as he carved four fours on his way to a sensational 28 runs off 14 balls on a slow pitch.
His late charge earned him the player of the match award. Van Buuren scored a run-a-ball 12.
Will Jacks’s two wickets left him as the most successful bowler in the Capitals’ bowling attack. Jacks bowled one over and conceded seven runs.
Earlier in the day, Theunis de Bruyn, who went on to expertly anchor the Capitals’ innings, found himself at the crease at the start of the first over after the dismissal of the tournament’s leading run-scorer, Will Jacks.
The 30-year-old Capitals player scored a wonderful 53 off 47 balls which featured three fours and a single six.
The Capitals were missing the services of their explosive opener Phil Salt, who was out because of illness. However, to their good fortune, the introduction of Kusal Mendis (37) into the Capitals team went some way in nullifying the threat brought by Bjorn Fortuin in the PowerPlay.
Nine of Fortiun’s 12 wickets have come in the first six overs. Despite striking early, with the dismissal of Will Jacks in the first over, Fortuin conceded 23 of the 46 runs the Capitals scored in the PowerPlay.
Mendis, who was part of the Capitals’ most significant partnership, raced to 37 runs off 26 deliveries as he combined with Theunis de Bruyn for a useful 52-run partnership that came off 38 balls.
The partnership provided the Capitals with a solid foundation. Mendis was dismissed courtesy of an excellent piece of athleticism by David Miller in the field.
The Capitals lost their way and appeared to waste a wonderful platform after the dismissal of Mendis in the eighth over. Rilee Rossouw (19) was looking good before he was dismissed.
Shane Dadswell (2) has had an underwhelming campaign and did not do much better. Eathan Bosch (5) swung at everything Lungi Ngidi sent his way and only managed to nick one behind for Jos Buttler to pouch an easy catch.
Ferisco Adams was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets from four overs at an economy of 9.5 runs an over.
PAARL ROYALS: Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Wihan Lubbe, David Miller (capt), Eoin Morgan, Evan Jones, Corbin Bosch, Bjorn Fortuin, Cody Yusuf, Lungi Ngidi.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Kusal Mendis (wk), Will Jacks, Theunis de Bruyn, Rilee Rossouw, Shane Dadswell, James Neesham, Wayne Parnell (capt), Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje, Senuran Muthusamy.