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MICT thump Royals to reach SA20 final

cricket04 February 2025 19:38| © MWP
By:Ross Roche
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MI Cape Town produced a clinical all-round performance to clinch a thumping 39-run win over the Paarl Royals to cruise into the Betway SA20 final in style, after winning the first qualifier at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday night.

A strong showing from their batting department helped MICT to a daunting score of 199-4 and the Royals were never really in the hunt, despite a sprightly innings from their captain David Miller as they fell well short on 160 all out in the final over.

MICT will now wait to see who they will face in Saturday’s final at DP World Wanderers in Johannesburg, while the Royals drop into Thursday’s second qualifier at SuperSport Park in Centurion, where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s eliminator between the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings.

“It’s a great feeling (to reach the final). Especially finishing at the bottom in the first two seasons. So making it to the playoffs this season was a relief,” said MICT captain Rashid Khan after the match.

“The way we played in the group stage was brilliant and then in the first qualifier (tonight). Everyone's taking responsibility.

“What impresses me so much is that under pressure everyone's performing so well. I think it has been a great effort in all three departments with ball, bat and in the field.”

In the chase the Royals got off to a flying start as Lhuan-dre Pretorius (15) and Mitchell Owen (7) took 21 off the first over from Trent Boult.

But that was as good as it got in the powerplay as Kagiso Rabada had Pretorius caught by diving keeper Ryan Rickelton, Boult had Owen caught on the boundary by Reeza Hendricks and Corbin Bosch had Rubin Hermann (2) top edging to Boult as the Royals finished the first six overs on 45-3.

Dayyaan Galiem (12) was run out in the seventh over after some poor running to leave the Royals in deep trouble on 48-4, but that brought Miller, 45 off 26 balls (4x4; 3x6), to the crease.

Along with Dunith Wellalage (15) they tried to revive the chase with 33-run fifth-wicket stand, but when Khan bowled Wellalage to leave the Royals on 81-5 at the halfway mark, the game was basically over.

Dinesh Karthik, 31 off 28 (5x4), stuck around for a bit, but didn’t score at a quick enough pace, which led to Miller trying to keep hold of the strike, before he holed out to Dewald Brevis at deep midwicket off George Linde in the 14th over as they slipped to 116-6.

The rest of the batting order didn’t produce much as regular wickets fell over the rest of the innings, with the Royals all out with two balls remaining.

MICT OFF TO A FLIER

At the start of the match it was a cracking first innings that got off to a flyer thanks to MICT openers Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen.

The Royals fought back in the middle overs led by spinner Wellalage before Brevis and Delano Potgieter gave the Cape side the perfect end to the innings.

Rickelton, 44 off 27 balls (4x4; 2x6), and Van Der Dussen, 40 off 32 (3x4; 2x6), got stuck into the powerplay as they took 66 off the first six overs, which included Kwena Maphaka conceding 15 in the fourth over and Bjorn Fortuin 20 in the fifth.

Wellalage, 2-23 in four overs, came into the attack in the seventh over and should have got the breakthrough after Rickelton, on 33, got a top edge off a reverse sweep, only for Mujeeb Ur Rahman to drop the catch.

That allowed the openers to extend their first-wicket partnership to 87 runs, before Van Der Dussen was first to fall, mis-hitting a short ball from Dayyaan Galiem straight to David Miller at mid-off, leaving them on 92-1 at the halfway mark.

In the next over Wellalage had his man, as Rickelton tried to launch him over long-on, only to be well caught on the boundary by Owen.

He was followed back to the change room two balls later by Sediqullah Atal for a duck after he bottom edged onto his own foot, with keeper Karthik taking the catch as they slipped to 93-3.

The Royals managed to temporarily stem the flow of runs, but Linde, 26 off 14, launched three sixes, including two off Fortuin, before popping a return catch back to the angry-looking bowler, leaving them on 125-4 after 15 overs.

That brought Potgieter, 32* off 17 (4x4; 1x6) in to join Brevis, 44* off 30 (4x6), and they gave MICT the perfect end to their innings with an unbeaten 74-run stand off the final five overs.

Brevis, on 16, was a little lucky to receive a reprieve from the third umpire after he hit a full toss from Galiem straight to deep-backward square leg. The delivery was ruled as no-ball (for being above his waist) when he hit it, although it looked like it would have dipped under by the time it reached the batting crease.

That led to a mess of a 19th over, with another Galiem no-ball full toss being whipped for four.

Galiem then had to be pulled out of the attack for bowling two beamers, leaving Owen to finish the over and his five balls promptly got smashed for 21 runs, as an eye-watering 27 runs came off the over.

Another 17 runs off Maphaka’s final over saw the last two overs dispatched for 44, as MICT finished on a daunting 199-4, which, in the end, proved to be more than enough to secure victory and a place in the final.

MI CAPE TOWN: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Sediqullah Atul, Dewald Brevis, Delano Potgieter, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan (capt), Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult

PAARL ROYALS: Mitchell Owen, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Rubin Hermann, Dunith Wellalage, David Miller (capt), Dinesh Karthik, Dayaan Galiem, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Kwena Maphaka

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