SA20: Paarl Royals jump to top after six-wicket triumph over Joburg Super Kings

Paarl [South Africa], January 21 (ANI): Paarl Royals' spinners continued to dominate at their Boland Park fortress to propel the team to the top of the SA20 standings.
The Royals quartet of Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Joe Root and Dunith Wellalage spun a web around the Joburg Super Kings batting unit to restrict the visitors to 146/6, a release from SA20 stated.
Fortuin (2/22) started the Joburg Super Kings (JSK) slide with two wickets in the Powerplay that set the tone for Mujeeb (1/28) and the rest to follow.
"Very delighted, nice to get over the line. It was one of the wickets where we went with the spin and it worked out. I had too many options at one point which was great," Royals captain David Miller was quoted in a release from SA20 as saying.
"We had them by the throat, but the last two overs let us down but that is the nature of the game. I thought it was a par score," Miller added.
It would have been a lot less were it not for England's double World Cup winner Jonny Bairstow (60 off 40 balls, 2x4, 3x6) and Donovan Ferreira's unbeaten 32 off 19 balls that saw the Super Kings add 65 runs in the last five overs.
"I thought we had a competitive score after they took wickets early on with their bowlers put us on the back foot and fair play to them," Bairstow said.
"If you go a bit too early, then you might be 5-6 down early, but if you are brave enough to keep wickets in the back end, to exploit the shorter side then you get rewards at the end. If you're brave enough to take it to the end, and having myself and Don with a bit of firepower to exploit the shorter side was great, but maybe 15-20 short," he added.
But even after the Super Kings' late onslaught, the Royals still had little trouble in completing a comfortable run-chase as the home team strolled home with six wickets intact. It was the Royals' third win in succession.
The competition's leading run-scorer Lhuan-dre Pretorius certainly enjoys batting at his new home ground with the teenage opener adding another breezy 27 off 14 balls (4x4, 1x6) to his two half-centuries at this picturesque venue.
"The guys at the top batted really well and got us off to a good start which got us ahead of the game," Miller added.
There was a slight hiccup when seamer Hardus Viljoen (2/23) removed both Pretorius and Joe Root in quick succession, but the Royals were always in control of the run chase.
Miller has performed his 'finisher' role to perfection this season and partnered up with Mitchell van Buuren (44 off 45 balls) for a 71-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Miller completed the job in fine style by smashing Lutho Sipamla for a massive maximum that has placed the Royals in a prime position to secure a playoff spot.
"We've got an adaptable squad and we play according to the condition and the last two years we started really well and finished badly, and that is something we keep in mind and we have all bases covered for now," he said. (ANI)