MICT bag a spot in the final after collective brilliance

MI Cape Town cruised to victory with a comfortable win against Paarl Royals by 39 runs in Gqeberha, thereby sealing berth in the SA20 final which will be played on Saturday (February 8) at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Rashid Khan also created history, now sitting alone at the top of the list of the most number of T20 wickets by a single bowler - 632 surpassing Dwayne Bravo.

The top order of MICT who have been in terrific form this entire tournament once again, gave the team a terrific start with an 87-run opening stand between, top-scorer of the tournament, Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton. They began their onslaught against the young Kwena Maphaka who began his new ball spell with five-wides and it only got worse from there for the youngster. He was hammered for 15 in his second over while Bjorn Fortuin faced the treatment an over later with three sixes off him.

Just after the PowerPlay, Mujeeb dropped a sitter off Rickelton to make matters worse for the bowling side. It was Dayyaan Galiem who pulled one back for the Royals deceiving van der Dussen with a slower ball. It was a successful passage of play for the Royals as Dunith Wellalage picked up two wickets in the next over including the set Rickelton. George Linde in his brief cameo of 26 powered three sixes against the favourable match-up of the left-arm spinners before he fell to Fortuin. Dewald Brevis then laid siege to Galiem with two sixes as MICT switched gears.

With the game in the balance after 18 overs, Galiem bowled his second waist-high no-ball rendering him out of the attack. Mitchell Owen who was the hero with the bat for the Hobart Hurricanes 10 days ago in the Big Bash final, couldn't do it with the ball for the Royals. Delano Potgieter and Brevis smashed 21 runs off the five balls he bowled to complete the over in a mammoth 27-run over before they laid the finishing touches with a 17-run over off Maphaka to end on 199 for 4. MICT had scored 44 runs off the last two overs, firmly putting them in the ascendency.

Unlike MICT, the Royals got off to a blistering start with 21 runs scored in the very first over against Trent Boult. But pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada had Lhuan-dre Pretorius nick behind to Rickelton, and Boult came back in his next over to prize Owen. Bosch picked up Rubin Hermann as the Royals had lost three in the PowerPlay.

It was a big slump for the Royals as they lost wickets consistently during their innings. Only David Miller (45) and Dinesh Karthik (31) got to any score of note for the chasing side. Both fell at a crucial juncture once they were set as victory loomed larger for MICT. Rashid Khan, the captain of the unstoppable MICT this year, picked up his 632nd T20 wicket when he castled Wellalage, a major milestone for the 26-year-old from Nangarhar. The Royals were bowled out for 160, as all the bowlers of the MICT were amongst the wickets.

Since the departure of Joe Root, the Royals have lost all their games - three on the bounce now - but they will get another chance in Qualifier 2. They will face the winner of the Eliminator between the Joburg Super Kings and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Brief Scores: MI Cape Town 199/4 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 44, Dewald Brevis 44*; Dunith Wellalage 2-23) beat Paarl Royals 160 in 19.4 overs (David Miller 45, Dinesh Karthik 31; Kagiso Rabada 2-18, Rashid Khan 2-33) by 39 runs