Eighteen-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius impressed in the SA20 tournament, leading the Paarl Royals to a nine-wicket win over the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. His powerful 97 runs off just 51 balls at Boland Park showcased his potential.
Pretorius, awaiting his Matric results, partnered with former England captain Joe Root. Together, they built a 132-run opening stand.
Pretorius displayed strong pulling and driving skills throughout his innings. The former South Africa U19 player benefited from Root’s experience during his SA20 debut.
Root played a steady innings, scoring an unbeaten 62 off 44 balls, guiding the Royals home after Pretorius was dismissed leg before wicket by Marco Jansen.
This marks the second consecutive defeat for the defending champions, who lost their opening match against MICT at St George’s Park.
Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram found his form, scoring 82 off 49 balls, seemingly putting the Sunrisers in a strong position at the halfway point.
Markram’s innings featured his trademark square drives and powerful hits straight down the ground.
He initially built a 30-run partnership with Tom Abell (20 off 12 balls) after the quick dismissals of openers Zak Crawley (27 off 18 balls) and Jordan Hermann (10 off 11 balls).
A key 102-run partnership off 63 balls between Markram and Tristan Stubbs (28 not out off 26 balls) boosted the Sunrisers’ total to 175/5.
Royals’ teenage fast bowler Kwena Maphaka took 2 wickets for 35 runs, performing well under pressure in the final over, dismissing both Markram and Marco Jansen. Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman also claimed 2 wickets for 27 runs.
The Royals will now travel to Newlands for the Western Cape derby against MI Cape Town on Monday evening.
The Sunrisers will head to Centurion for their next match against the Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday night.
