Pretorius Powers Paarl Royals to Nail-biting Win

Lhuan-dre Pretorius led Paarl Royals to a thrilling one-run victory against MI Cape Town in the SA20 clash. His unbeaten 98 propelled the Royals to 181/3. Despite strong starts from Rickelton and van der Dussen, Cape Town fell short at 180/8, with Sikandar Raza's bowling proving decisive.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius starred in Paarl Royals' thrilling one-run victory over MI Cape Town in their SA20 match, leaving the opponents without a win in their streak.

Pretorius narrowly missed a personal milestone but his unbeaten 98 off 65 balls, embellished with 10 boundaries and a six, set a formidable target of 181 for three for the Royals. MI Cape Town, in response, fell just short at 180 for eight.

Despite a promising start by Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen, who added 77 runs in a robust opening partnership, Cape Town faltered as Sikandar Raza disrupted their innings. Rashid Khan and George Linde provided late resistance, but the Royals held fort, with Ottneil Baartman sealing the win by claiming two crucial scalps in the final over.

(With inputs from agencies.)