Paarl Royals captain David Miller admitted they got into a sticky situation after they suffered a big loss of 59 runs in the 30th match of the ongoing SA20 at the SuperSport Park, Centurion on Tuesday. Despite this big loss, Paarl Royals were able to make their way into the semifinals, where they will once again take on the Capitals on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Pretoria Capitals posted a massive total of 226 runs on the board after David Miller won the toss and decided to field. Kusal Mendis scored a magnificent knock of 80 runs from 41 balls whereas Phil Salt and Colin Ingram also played quick knocks of 39 and 41 respectively from 21 balls apiece.
Jos Buttler was the lone warrior for the Royals as he scored 70 runs from 45 balls but he could not get support from the other end. Miller admitted they weren’t at their best with the ball in the first innings and they will look to bounce back stronger in the semifinal.
David Miller said in the post-match presentation, “Obviously we wanted to go out and win the game but we got into a sticky situation, so good to qualify. They batted really well but there were areas where we bowled badly. We have match winners all the way through, Jos batted maturely tonight and showed his experience. We have to come together and put in a big performance tomorrow. Different conditions but this wasn’t a great game, tomorrow is a new game and we will be up for it.”
On the other hand, Kusal Mendis was delighted with his match-winning knock as he contributed to the win. The Sri Lankan was awarded the Player of the Match.
He said after the game, “Really happy with my innings. We had a good start in the powerplay and built the innings from thereon. Everyone was looking to score runs and hence we got to 200 easily. The team is geling together, know how each other play and are looking forward to tomorrow’s game.”
Meanwhile, the Capitals skipper Theunis de Bruyn showered praise on Mendis for his knock.
He said after the win, “It is nice to win. We would have liked to keep them out of the semifinal and play Durban, but we are happy to be in the semifinal. We will take the momentum into tomorrow’s game. These playoff games are different and we need a special effort from the guys. Mendis has been playing superbly since he came in for Jacks and hopefully he can do that tomorrow as well.”
