SA20: Paarl Royals players cannot believe their luck as four Byes take them to semis-WATCH
SA20 franchise Paarl Royals were not able to believe when they got four extra runs of byes in the last over and they qaulified despite losing to the Capitals.
South Africa's T20 league, SA20 has gained a lot of popularity around the world in its first season. Now, when the tournament is inching towards its final stage, the four teams which will meet in the knockout round are now confirmed. Pretoria Capitals, Paarl Royals, Joburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape will battle it out with each other in the upcoming playoffs.
Though the most interesting journey was of Paarl Royals. Paarl Royals lost their last match against Pretoria Capitals by 59 runs. Paarl Royals were chasing a target of 223 and they had to score 163 runs so that their run rate didn't fall and they didn't go down below Durban Super Giants as both of them were at equal points.
Watch Paarl Royals get four extra runs
In the last over Paarl Royals needed 4 runs off 5 balls to score 163 but they had only two wickets left. Adil Rashid bowled a googly and the wicketkeeper was unable to pick it which gave Royals four easy runs and they qualified for the playoffs.
Paarl Royals lost the match but it didn't matter to them as they retained their fourth spot and qualified for the playoffs. The Paarl Royals dugout was quite tense but when they got the easy four runs they were not able to believe themselves but also there was a smile on their faces.
However, Paarl Royals will now meet Pretoria Capitals again in the first semi-final which will take place on Wednesday, 8th February at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
The Pretoria Capitals won seven games out of their 10 games and successfully topped the table by 31 points. Captain Wayne Parnell leads the team by an example and they would want their captain to recover from his injury.
The Capitals will slightly have an edge over the Royals and it would take something special from David Miller-led Royals to overcome the Capitals challenge.
The second semi-final will be played between Joburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the SuperSport Park on 9th February, Thursday.
The final will be played on Saturday,11th February at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Published By : Saksham Nagar
Published On: 8 February 2023 at 19:27 IST