Fifties from Jason Roy and Jos Buttler, coupled with an all-round performance from the bowling unit powered the Paarl Royals to a commanding win in the reverse fixture against MI Cape Town on Sunday.

The J&J Show brings the Gees

Yet again, David Miller was on the losing end of the toss but the Royals openers surely didn't mind being put in to bat first up. They continued their form from the last game in front of a packed crowd at Boland Park who showed up for some Sunday afternoon fiesta. Up untill the start of the 13th over, none of the MI Cape Town bowlers had an answer to Roy and Buttler's freak show that saw them stitch a 116-run first-wicket partnership. Between them, there were 13 fours and two sixes hit, with both batters scoring at similar strike rates. The Royals lost just 3 wickets in the entire innings, with one of them being that of the skipper who retired hurt with a foot injury. 

Fortuin's moment of glory

The hosts would have been wary of an in-form MICT top order that included the likes of Ryan Rickelton who was coming off a string of fifties. But that's when a well-prepared Bjorn Fortuin turned up with his slow left-arm burn. In his first over, Fortuin nicked both Rassie van der Dussen and Dewald Brevis and it was followed by a wicket-maiden from Obed McCoy, who caught the big fish Rickelton. By the 4th over, MICT were 13/3, but their middle order soon restored some normalcy with a couple of stable partnerships. Andile Phehlukwayo provided a breakthrough in the 11th over, getting rid of settled Connor Esterhuizen.

The floodgates opened when Tabraiz Shamsi struck twice in his over, removing Sam Curran and captain Kieron Pollard. From there on, the visitors were only playing catch-up as the required run rate kept climbing. Thomas Kaber's last-minute cameo brought them closer but it wasn't enough to cross the line as th Royals snatched a 59-run victory.

What's next?

With 18 points and a net run rate of +1.216, Paarl Royals have further solidified their position at the top of the table. Their next match is on the road, the reverse fixture against Joburg Super Kings at the magnificent Wanderers.