By Patrick Compton.
Rilee Rossouw guided the Pretoria Capitals to 29-run victory over the Paarl Royals with a superb half-century and the key wicket of Eoin Morgan in the first Betway SA20 semifinal at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Wednesday night.
The sides had played their last pool game the day before with the Capitals – who claimed seven victories and top position on the log – securing a convincing victory. This time around the margins were narrower, but Capitals were full value for their win.
Rossouw’s vital 56 in 41 balls – the only half-century in the match – was an essential component in the Capitals’ total of 153 for eight after they had been put in to bat on a tacky, two-paced pitch that made life difficult for the batsmen.
And he further underlined his value to the side when he claimed the important scalp of former England captain Eoin Morgan – caught at deep point – in the only over the part-time offspinner delivered.
The Royals, chasing a challenging target of 154 for victory, were hit by the almost immediate dismissal of Jason Roy who chipped Eathan Bosch’s second ball to short cover (Rossouw). And when key man Jos Buttler was castled by a delivery from Bosch that kept low, the Capitals looked to be in charge.
The Royals kept scoring at a brisk rate, however, with Irishman Paul Stirling blasting a six and two fours off Anrich Nortje’s opening over. But the wickets kept falling with Adil Rashid trapping Stirling leg before and then bowling Dane Vilas with a superb googly.
Morgan and David Miller were the last two serious obstacles for the Capitals and Rossouw’s excellent cameo with the ball accounted for Morgan.
Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo briefly looked like making a fight of it but Colin Ingram claimed two superb catches on the long-on boundary to get rid of the pair of them, with Miller (31 in 27 balls) departing in the penultimate over to Nortje, who then got rid of last man Tabraiz Shamsi.
The Capitals’ attack operated well as a unit with Bosch, Nortje, Rashid and James Neesham all claiming two wickets.
Earlier, steady rain during much of the day meant that the game started 45 minutes late on a difficult T20 pitch.
Royals’ skipper Miller made the right call to put his opponents in to bat, and left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin (1-24 in four overs) got turn and bounce to put the Capitals’ openers under immediate pressure.
Kusal Mendis was the first to go, lobbing a mishit drive to cover, and Phil Salt and Theunis de Bruyn were only able to collect 32/1 in the first power play – the team’s lowest in the competition, as Lungi Ngidi also proved hard to hit.
De Bruyn and Salt both went shortly afterwards, both victims of Tabraiz Shamsi, while Colin Ingram and Jimmy Neesham went cheaply to the bowling of Evan Jones and Phehlukwayo respectively.
Rossouw, who has not enjoyed a successful competition, worked hard to get himself in and at last he found a partner in Bosch as the pair added 42 in 20 balls for the sixth wicket, the only really positive partnership in the innings.
The powerful left-hander hit some sensational shots. One punch off the back foot off Jones and then a massive sweep for a huge six off the same bowler were the shots of the innings.
Rossouw was unable to bat through, however, sweeping Phehlukwayo to deep square leg, and it required some late hitting from Bosch and Rashid to get the Capitals past the 150 mark.
For the Royals, Phehlukwayo was the most successful bowler with 3-29, while spinners Shamsi (2-19) and Fortuin (1-24) were impressive on a helpful pitch.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Philip Salt(w), Kusal Mendis, Theunis de Bruyn(c), Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, James Neesham, Senuran Muthusamy, Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje
PAARL ROYALS: Paul Stirling, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler(w), Dane Vilas, David Miller(c), Eoin Morgan, Evan Jones, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.