Royals victory was ‘sweeter’

Their latest victory had an extra touch of sweetness, according to spin bowler Tabraiz Shamsi (below), after Paarl Royals got the better of Western Cape rivals MI Cape Town for the first time in the SA20 competition.

After losing both their derby matches in last year’s inaugural series, and again going down at Newlands last Friday, the Royals hit back to secure a crushing 59-run victory at Boland Park on Sunday.

Sent in to bat, the Royals top order carried them to 162/3, anchored by openers Jason Roy (68) and Jos Buttler (54), who combined in a 116-run stand for the first wicket.

In response, the visitors were bowled out for 103 runs, as the home side’s attack delivered a fine all-round performance.

They were led by spinner Bjorn Fortuin, who took 3/15, while Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi and Obed McCoy grabbed two wickets each.

“In this competition, any team can beat anyone,” Shamsi said after the match.

“But there was a little bit of extra motivation to beat our neighbours because they were 3-0 up on us, so I’m glad we could win today and do so convincingly.”

With their fourth win in five matches this season, the Paarl outfit extended their lead at the top of the league standings, while the Cape Town side were handed their third defeat of the campaign.

Cape Town head coach Robin Peterson credited their hosts for their performance, admitting his team had been out-played.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to doff your cap to the opposition. They played well,” Peterson said.

“We couldn’t get momentum and it’s not because we read the pitch wrong. The pitch didn’t change throughout the game. Allin-all the bounce and pace was truer than a traditional Paarl surface, so I think we read the pitch ok.”