Paarl Royals Start SA20 Campaign on a High Note

Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 18, made a stunning SA20 debut, scoring 97 runs and helping Paarl Royals secure a 9-wicket win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape.

Pretorius' Blistering Knock

Pretorius opened the innings with Joe Root and added 132 runs for the first wicket. He was just three runs shy of a century but his impressive knock was enough to condemn Sunrisers to their second consecutive defeat.

Key Moments

• Pretorius started the fireworks with a four and a six off Marco Jansen in the second over.
• Root broke free with a six over Aiden Markram's head, while Pretorius added to his boundary tally.
• Pretorius was reprieved at short fine but took full toll of the opportunity, carting Ottneil Baartman and Liam Dawson around.
• Root watched the fireworks from the other end, with Pretorius moving to 80 after smashing another six in his innings.

Sunrisers' Struggles

Sunrisers struggled to get off to a good start, with Zak Crawley breaking the shackles with successive sixes off Kwena Maphaka. However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman got rid of both openers in the next over, setting them back.

Markram's Late Effort

Aiden Markram stepped up in the second half, taking the responsibility of finding the boundary regularly at the death. He scored 82 runs but his efforts were not enough to guide Sunrisers past the 170-run mark.

Brief Scores

• Sunrisers Eastern Cape: 175/5 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 82; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/27)
• Paarl Royals: 176/1 in 18.4 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 97, Joe Root 62*)