SA20 2023 | Rossouw’s all-round brilliance pummels Royals as Capitals enter finals
Rossouw plays a shot during his 56 (SA20)
Table-toppers Pretoria Capitals have booked their tickets for the summit clash of the inaugural SA20 2023 season. In a one-sided contest, the Theunis de Bruyn-led side overpowered the Paarl Royals by 29 runs in the first semi-final of the tournament in Johannesburg.
Rilee Rossouw elevates Capitals after early jitters
The Pretoria Capitals’ top-order struggled to score on the big day after being invited to bat first by the Royals. Openers Phil Salt and Kusal Mendis alongside captain Theunis de Bruyn failed to get going before the innings was resurrected by Rilee Rossouw in the middle overs.
The cricketer, without forming a notable partnership with anyone, stabilized his end of the wicket with much finesse. He scored a brisk 56, facing just 41 deliveries, and provided a perfect accelerating pad for his side in the death overs.
Capitals, who were 91-5 after 15 overs, added 62 runs off the final five overs to reach 153-8, courtesy of Rossouw’s batting dexterity and Eathan Bosch’s boundary-bombing at the end.
For the Royals, Andile Phehlukwayo finished with a three-fer while T20 mastermind Tabraiz Shamsi returned with economical figures of 2-19 off his four overs.
Bosch’s new-ball brilliance strangulates Royals
Bosch, fresh from his gripping cameo with the bat, electrocuted the Royals’ response off his first two overs with the ball. The cricketer dismissed his rivals’ elite English-imported top-order, comprising of heavyweights Jason Roy and Jos Buttler.
Bosch’s sublime new-ball gambit inspired others to strangle the rest of the Royals batting line-up. Anrich Nortje and overseas stars Adil Rashid and James Neesham all claimed two wickets each while Migael Pretorius returned with a wicket.
Rossouw, after unleashing enterprising stroke-play in the first innings, crushed Royals’ remaining hope by sending Eoin Morgan back to the pavilion.
The Capitals bowlers teamed up to eventually dust out the David Miller-led side for 124, i.e., 29 runs short of their target. With a thumping win in the first semi-final, they have now comfortably placed one hand on the trophy. Bruyn and co. will face the other finalist at the same venue on February 11.
Brief scores:
Pretoria Capitals: 153-8 (20)
Rilee Rossouw 56 (41), Eathan Bosch 22 (10)
Andile Phehlukwayo 3-29, Tabraiz Shamsi 2-19
Paarl Royals: 124 (19)
David Miller 31 (27), Paul Stirling 21 (14)
Adil Rashid 2-15, James Neesham 2-19
Pretoria Capitals won by 29 runs
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