SA20 League: MI Cape Town kicked start their campaign with emphatic 8-wicket win over Paarl Royals
It was all smiles at the Newlands Cricket Ground as the inaugural edition of the SA20 league kicked start its journey. It brought the faith back among the fans on SA cricket after all the chaos in the last couple of years.
MI Cape Town started their campaign with an impressive 8-wicket victory over Paarl Royals. In addition to winning at The Newlands Cricket Ground, MICT also earned a bonus point in the first game of the competition.
Chasing a target of 143, MI got over the finishing line inside 16 overs with 8 wickets remaining and gave a strong statement to the rest of the teams. They got off to a flier as openers Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton laid the foundation.
A solid opening stand between Brevis and Rickelton
The duo struck a 90-run opening stand which pushed the Royals away from the game. Brevis was extremely impressive with his stroke-play. With four fours and five sixes, commonly known as ‘Baby AB’, Brevis remained unbeaten on 70 from just 41 balls.
His partner Rickelton, gave him the right support with a brisk innings of 42 runs. This dominating 8-wicket victory helped MI bag a bonus point.
Earlier, the Royals after being invited to bat first, struggled to get to a big score as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Jos Buttler was the best performer for them with an innings of 51 runs. Captrain David Miller’s quick fire 42 runs helped them to a score of 142/7 which eventually was not enough.
The MI bowlers were clinical with their line and lengths. Playing his first competitive match after 18 months, Jofra Archer announced his comeback in a grand style. He returned with figures of 3/27 and was the pick of the bowlers.
Dewald Brevis was declared the Man of the Match for his match winning innings. The SA20 league is being loved by the fans and is expected to be more and more popular as the tournament progresses.
