JOHANNESBURG: Rilee Rossouw fired in with a 41-ball 56 before bowlers took the charge and steered Pretoria Capitals to the SA20 final after they edged Paarl Royals by 29 runs in the first semifinal on Wednesday.
Rossouw’s valiant fifty helped Pretoria Capitals reach a respectable total of 153/8 in the 20 overs after they were put into bat.
Paarl Royals, in reply, were bundled out for a mere 124 runs thanks to a brilliant combined effort by Capitals’ bowlers.
Eathan Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Adil Rashid and James Neesham took two wickets each as Capitals kept Paarl Royals’ batting line unsettled throughout the chase.
Capitals proved to be a much better side on the second consecutive day after they crushed the Royals by 59 runs in Centurion on Wednesday.
However, a different surface in Johannesburg, which offered something to both the fast bowlers as well as the spinners, made the win a bit more laborious for the Capitals. They were reduced to 51/3 in the ninth over with Phil Salt, Kusal Mendis and stand-in captain Theunis de Bruyn back in the camp.
Rossouw then held on the fort but received little support from the other end as Colin Ingram and James Neesham fell in quick succession. The left-hander, however, continued his tempo and showed some fireworks in the late overs, hitting Lungi Ngidi for four boundaries in the 18th over.
Eathan Bosch smashed three fours and a maximum in his 10-ball 22 while Rashid was able to hit two fours in the final over to take Pretoria past the 150 mark.
Royals, on the other hand, went through a dismal start as opener Jason Roy was cut short on a duck by Bosch on the second ball of the innings. Bosch then handed a fateful jolt on the first ball of his second over, cleaning up the in-form Jos Buttler.
Paul Stirling tried to salvage the Royals by clubbing three fours and a six but was trapped LBW right after the powerplay off Adil Rashid, who then went on to hunt Dane Vilas with a googly to leave Paarl 72/4 after 10 overs.
Albeit brief contributions from Eoin Morgan (17 from 13) and David Miller (31 from 27) from there onwards, the Royals never looked in control of the game and threw away the chase in the 19th over.
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