Pretoria Capitals: 212/5 (Will Smeed 54; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/28)
Paarl Royals: 213/2 (Joe Root 92*; Will Jacks 1/33)
Paarl Royals won by eight wickets
Joe Root’s unbeaten 92 guided the Paarl Royals to a record-breaking run-chase away from home at SuperSport Park in Centurion, beating the Pretoria Capitals by eight wickets in their own backyard.
It took Root and Paarl Royals captain David Miller 19.4 overs to get their side over the line as the Pretoria Capitals fought right to the end in what was a nail-biting encounter.
Having been set 213 runs to win by the hosts, Paarl Royals’ openers Joe Root and Lhuan-dre Pretorius went into the chase knowing that they would need to set the highest successful run chase in SA20 history to get over the line.
A chase of the highest order 💯 #BetwaySA20 #PCvPR #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/qO9k0yec0L
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) January 18, 2025
Despite losing the 18-year-old Pretorius with the very first ball courtesy of a well-executed return catch from off-spinner Will Jacks (1/33), Root and left-handed batter Rubin Hermann managed to put on 58 runs in the first powerplay, an almost identical score as the Capitals at the same interval.
The right-hand-left-hand combination between Root and Hermann continued as the pair put together 125 runs for the second wicket partnership, with Hermann (56, 5x4, 3x6) reaching his maiden half-century in his SA20 debut.
After losing Hermann, Root did not take his foot off the pedal. He was joined by Miller at the crease, and the pair put on a match-winning 88-run stand for the third wicket.
Root’s unbeaten 92 off 60, a knock which saw the 34-year-old smash 11 fours and two sixes, was also his highest score in the shortest format.
Miller (48, 3x4, 2x6), rightfully hit the winning runs as the captain.
Requiring two runs in three balls to win the match, the 35-year-old mistimed an attempted shot over the cover boundary, only to be dropped by a diving Marques Ackerman, leading to the pair completing the two runs and securing the highest successful run-chase in SA20 history.
Root scored his second fifty-plus score in the four matches that the Royals have played.
The 35-year-old spoke highly of the SA20 and emphasised on the importance of having experienced players such as Miller in the side to help with the growth of the youngsters such as Pretorius.
“I am. It’s a great tournament. It’s great to be a part of it. Great to have an opportunity to play some T20 cricket. It was great to get across the line in a high chase like that," said Root.
“On our side, the middle order is full of experience. You’ve seen what Lhuan-dre can do at the top of the order.
"We’ve got some exciting young players but throughout we’ve got a bit of experience which we can bounce off each other.
“When you’ve got someone with that amount of experience, 500 plus games in this format and so many times he’s gone on from that position to win games, that can only be a really good thing for the team.
“With this ground, you feel like you can chase anything as long as you’ve got wickets in hand and you can put a few partnerships together.
“It was about not panicking, we lost the early wicket, trying to build throughout the powerplay and get us in a decent position.
“You always feel that on this ground, given how fast the outfield is, how small the ground is, how good the wicket is and it flies a bit more as well, you can chase anything really." he added.
Earlier, the hosts won the toss and opted to bat first. Yet another Englishman, 23-year-old Will Smeed, alongside Afghanistan international Rahmanullah Gurbaz, played an important hand in Pretoria Capitals setting the Royals a mammoth 213 runs.
Smeed top-scored with a 34-ball 54, while Gurbaz put together a 29-ball 42 as the pair combined for 76 runs, the highest partnership in the Capitals innings. Kyle Verreynne’s 45 off 23 alongside a cameo from James Neesham (28 off 13) were just as crucial.