CENTURION: Pretoria Capitals’ opener Will Jacks struck a quickfire 92 off 46 deliveries to lay a solid foundation for a big total before bowlers steer the side to a dominating 37-run victory over Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the sixth SA20 fixture.
Put into bat first, Pretoria Capitals piled on a mammoth 216/6 in their allotted 20 overs at the back of a brisk 92-run knock of their opener Jacks.
The Capitals had an unwanted start to their innings as they lost their opener Phil Salt cheaply, who could score a mere one before falling in the second over.
Jacks then anchored the innings with a valiant 34-run partnership with Rilee Rossouw but could not stretch the stand as the latter fell after scoring 20 off 15; resulting in the Capitals slipping to 47/2 in the fifth over.
Following two dismissals, Jacks spiced up the game with belligerent hitting with Theunis de Bruyn supporting equally.
The duo batted for nine overs together and added 111 runs at an astounding pace before Bruyn perished just eight short of his well-deserved half-century.
The right-handed batter scored 42 off a mere 23 deliveries, hitting two fours and four sixes.
Following Bruyn’s dismissal, Jacks could not extend his stay at the crease and fell eight short of what could have been a magnificent century.
The right-handed batter, however, top-scored for his side with a 46-ball 92 and smashed seven boundaries and eight sixes.
Following his departure, the Capitals’ batters James Neesham (18), Shane Dadswell (20*) and Migael Pretorious (11*) made important contributions to power their side to a massive total.
Sisanda Magala and Ottniel Baartman took two wickets each, while Brydon Carse and Marco Jansen struck out a batter each.
Set to chase 217, Sunrisers Eastern Cape could accumulate 179/7 in 20 Overs as none of their batters could match Jacks’ brilliance.
The side had a deplorable start to the run chase as they lost two wickets for just 15 runs in the second over and then kept losing wickets at regular intervals which halted their expedition.
Skipper Aiden Markram pushed for the run chase with his brisk 46 off 29 deliveries but it was not enough.
Besides him, only Jansen (36) and JJ Smut (28) remained the notable run-getters while the rest of the batters remained clueless against the Capitals’ bowling attack.
Parnell led the Capitals’ bowling attack with 2/20 while Adil bagged 2/46. Neesham, Anrich Nortje and Eathan Bosch picked up a wicket apiece.
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