Royals' Pretorius shines on SA20 debut

Lhuan-dre Pretorius provided South African cricket with a glimpse into the future after he smashed 97 off 51 balls to power Paarl Royals to a nine-wicket victory over Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 in Paarl on Saturday.

The 18-year-old, who is still awaiting his Matric results, was in imperious form as he shared a 132-run opening stand with former England captain Joe Root.

Pretorius' power game was on full display as he pulled and drove with authority. The former SA U19 prodigy certainly benefitted from having the experienced Root at the non-striker's end on his SA20 debut.

Root was his customarily composed self as he steered the Royals home with an undefeated 62 off 44 balls (4x4; 1x6) after Pretorius was trapped LBW by Marco Jansen.

Pretorius struck 10 fours and six sixes.

The defending champions have now slumped to a second successive defeat after their opening loss to MI Cape Town at St George's Park on Thursday night.

It all seemed to be going much better at the halfway interval when Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram returned to form with a classy 82 off 49 balls (7x4; 2x6). It was a vintage Markram innings with the skipper hauling out his trademark square drive, while also muscling the ball straight down the ground.

Markram initially solidified the Sunrisers innings with Tom Abell (20 off 12 balls) through a 30-run partnership after the loss of both openers Zak Crawley (27 off 18 balls) and Jordan Hermann (10 off 11 balls) in quick succession.

But it was the 102-run partnership off only 63 balls with Tristan Stubbs (28 not out off 26 balls) that paved the way for Sunrisers' 175/5.

Royals teenage fast bowler Kwena Maphaka (2/35) showed his ability to execute under pressure though as he held his nerve in the final over of the innings by picking up the wickets of both Markram and Marco Jansen. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman also collected 2/27.

Durban's Super Giants pip Pretoria Capitals

On Friday, Durban's Super Giants claimed a dramatic two-run victory over Pretoria Capitals in their high-scoring season opener in Durban, despite fireworks from Will Jacks (64) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (89).

Chasing 210 to win, Jacks and Gurbaz put on 154 for the opening wicket as Pretoria Capitals looked set for a big win, but last year's SA20 finalists DSG came back strong to restrict their opponents to 207 for six in their allotted 20 overs.

Super Giants had posted 209 for 4.

Noor Ahmad (2/34) dismissed both the set batters in two consecutive overs to provide DSG with the opening they needed and his side capitalised by building pressure on the opposition camp which had no reply.

Jacks made a 35-ball 64 with five sixes and three fours whereas Gurbaz clobbered seven sixes and three fours to make 89 off 43 balls before they both fell to the left-arm Afghan spinner.

Noor had his compatriot Gurbaz caught at the boundary by Heinrich Klaasen in the 13th over and cleaned up Jacks in his next over to open the floodgates.

England veteran Chris Woakes (2/42) cleaned up both Rilee Rossouw (1) and Senuran Muthusamy (8), once again in two consecutive overs, to put his side on track for the win.

At one stage, Pretoria Capitals needed 42 runs from as many balls with nine wickets intact, but a flurry of wickets pegged them back completely and they failed to respond to the situation.

Earlier, a rapid 19-ball 45 not out from Wiaan Mulder with three sixes and four fours gave the home side the momentum as they finished strong, with New Zealand veteran Kane Williamson hitting a 60 not out off 40 balls with three sixes and two fours.

Muthusamy was the pick among the bowlers from both the sides as the left-arm South African spinner returned 4-0-21-3.