The Paarl Royals may have lost by 59 runs to the Pretoria Capitals in the last round-robin match of the Betway SA20, but they did just enough to sneak into the semi-finals.<\/p>\n
The Royals were playing a game within a game after the Capitals posted a mammoth 226\/5 in their allotted 20 overs.<\/p>\n
Sri Lankan international Kusal Mendis was the mainstay of the Capitals innings with 80 off 41 balls. Colin Ingram (41) and Phil Salt (39) also made worthwhile contributions.<\/p>\n
The Paarl-based side\u2019s secondary target was 163 in order to edge out Durban\u2019s Super Giants for the last remaining semi-final spot.<\/p>\n
The Super Giants\u2019 hopes were rising when the Royals were reduced to 38\/3 in the Powerplay and then a further 101\/5 in the 14th over when captain David Miller walked back to the pavilion with seemingly his team\u2019s hopes of progressing with him.<\/p>\n
However, the Royals still had Jos Buttler at the crease and England\u2019s limited-overs captain delivered a superb 70 off 45 balls (4×4, 5×6) to take his team to the brink of qualification.<\/p>\n
Ten runs were still required off eight balls when Buttler departed though and it was left to Bjorn Fortuin to get the Royals into the semi-finals with a vitally important eight runs off eight deliveries.<\/p>\n
The table-topping Capitals, meanwhile, will be glad that they returned to winning ways after their hiccup against the Super Giants with a rematch awaiting them against the Royals in the first semi-final at the Wanderers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The second Betway SA20 semi-final will see Joburg Super Kings face off against third-placed Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Centurion on Thursday.<\/p>\n
image SA20\/Spotzpics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"