Sherfane Rutherford struck two sixes in the final over to overcome an earlier collapse and heave the Pretoria Capitals to a commendable total of 138-9 which was sufficient to earn a 21-run victory in their SA20 match against the Paarl Royals at Boland Park in Paarl on Saturday afternoon.
The home side endured a painfully slow first 10 overs of their run chase and, despite a valiant 45 from 36 balls with four sixes from captain David Miller, could muster only 117-6 in reply.
Capitals captain, Keshav Maharaj, chose to bat first and was indebted to Rutherford for a defendable total before shining with the ball to claim 2-14 from his four overs while fast bowler Gideon Peters (3-0-11-1) was also outstanding on a typically sluggish Boland Park pitch.
The left-handed Guyanese allrounder finished unbeaten on 42 from 35 balls with a trio of fours and sixes, including two from the final six balls from Hardus Viljoen, to help the visitors recover from 74-6 and 105-7 to post a respectable total.
No matter the prior knowledge and preparation for the lack of pace and ‘awkwardness’ of the Paarl pitch visiting batsmen continue to look non-plussed at their inability to time the ball – and propensity to hit catches to boundary fielders.
Connor Esterhuizen (12) drove Viljoen to mid off before Englishman Jordan Cox fluffed a pull shot against Nqobani Mokoena (1-33) to mid on.
Another Englishman, part-time offspinner Dan Lawrence (2-0-19-2), claimed two wickets in his first over when Shai Hope (22) slapped a length ball to deep cover and Wihan Lubbe (8) drove to long off.
Barbadian Roston Chase (9) conjured a six from the six balls he faced before becoming yet another victim of the slow pitch with a clunked drive to provide the excellent Sikander Raza (4-0-13-2) with a return catch.
At 71-5 in was incumbent upon the tournament’s most expensive player to provide some return on the R16 million invested in him but Dewald Brevis drove ambitiously against a Sikander ‘slider’ and was bowled between bat and pad for 12 from 15 balls and it was 74-6 with just over eight overs remaining.
Rutherford turned down a couple of singles in the company of Lizaad Williams in search of boundaries and it was his 42* which allowed the Capitals, eventually, to give themselves a fighting chance.
The Royals run-chase stuttered immediately when Lhuan-dre Pretorius (0) was trapped lbw by Lungi Ngidi with the second ball, Englishman Asa Tribe (14) gloved a rapid Gideon Peters bouncer down the legside and Lawrence, mistimed offspinner Wiaan Lubbe to cover.
When the big-hitting Raza (9) missed a slog sweep against Maharaj the Royals required 60 from the final 30 balls and, although Miller tried, it proved an impossible task.
The Capitals (15 points) moved into third place on the log, ahead of the Royals on net run-rate and two behind the Joburg Super Kings (17) and four behind leaders Runrisers Eastern Cape who have 19 points.
Durban Super Giants (10) and MI Cape Town remain in fifth and sixth place.
PAARL ROYALS: Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wkt), Asa Tribe, Rubin Hermaann, Dan Lawrence, David Miller (captain), Delano Potgieter, Sikander Raza, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Bjorn Fortuin, Hardus Viljoen, Nqobani Mokoena.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Connor Esterhuizen, Shai Hope (wkt), Jordan Cox, Wihan Lubbe, Dewald Brevis, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Keshav Maharaj (captain), Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Gideon Peters.