SA20 2025 Qualifier 1: MI Cape Town Crush Paarl Royals by 39 Runs to Secure Final Spot: In a dominant display, MI Cape Town reached the SA20 2025 final comprehensively by winning against the Paarl Royals by 39 runs in Qualifier 1 at St. George’s Park, Gqeberha. A delightful all-round performance from MICT meant they left no stone unturned against the Royals, gaining direct entry into the final while the PR gets a second chance in the second qualifier.
Explosive Batting from MI Cape Town Sets Them in Good Stead
Choosing to bat first, MI Cape Town went on the power-play offensively, laying a solid foundation with their openers. Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen kept that scoreboard ticking-a good strike rate early on. Having said that, it was Dewald Brevis’ attacking 44 off 30 balls that proved the watershed moment. With sixes that went off with power and boundaries with grace, he saw MICT to 199/4 in their allotted 20 overs.
The bowling attack from Paarl Royals was struggling to contain the aggressive batting lineup of MICT. Dunith Wellalage was the highlight of the bowlers, making sure to get hold of crucial kinds of wickets in the middle overs, but this could hardly save the cape town batsmen from amassing that huge total.
Collapse Under Pressure for Paarl Royals
The Royals got off to a flying start while chasing 200, but they could not capitalize on that and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. While it was anticipated that L.Pretorious and R.Hermann would give the push, both went away cheaply and this left PR in a delicate job very early on. Though there was somewhat of a fightback through David Miller’s knock of 45 from 26 balls, there was no follow-up on that front from the middle order.
Also Read: SA20 2025 Qualifier 1: MICT vs PR, Key Players To Watch, Playing 11, Streaming Details
MI Cape Town’s bowlers looked week for week, with Kagiso Rabada leading from the front with match figures of 2 for 18. Rashid Khan and Trent Boult also add vital wickets to see Paarl Royals all out for 160 in just 18.4 overs.
MI Cape Town’s win sends them directly to the final of SA20 2025, at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. The Paarl Royals will play against the winner of the Eliminator match between Joburg Super Kings and Durban Super Giants in Qualifier 2, and that remains their last chance to secure a final spot.
