For a talent as precious as Lhuan-dre Pretorius, the SA20 Season 4 has been quite a bumpy ride. The 19-year-old was the top-scorer of Season 3, but barring a 98* against MI Cape Town, Pretorius struggled throughout the ongoing edition – until Thursday. With his team, the Paarl Royals, facing a must-win situation against the Joburg Super Kings in the SA20 Eliminator, Pretorius stepped up to take centre stage at Centurion.
He slammed five sixes and two fours en route to a 34-ball 51 – perhaps the Royals’ most important half-century of the season, forming the bedrock of their 210-run total. In reply, the Super Kings could manage only 174/8 in 20 overs and were knocked out of the competition. The Royals will now face SunRisers Eastern Cape in Qualifier 2 at the Wanderers. If they win, it will seal their first-ever appearance in the SA20 final.
Pretorius started slowly, with Kyle Verreynne (30 off 15 balls) leading the charge in the Powerplay. Pretorius – the youngest player in Test history to score 150 on debut, breaking a record previously held by Pakistan’s Javed Miandad – came into his own after the fall of the first wicket. Once settled, he played some exquisite shots all around the ground. He was ably supported by skipper Dan Lawrence (36 off 23 balls), Sikandar Raza (35 off 19 balls) and Asa Tribe (30* off 16 balls).
In response, barring James Vince (47 off 29 balls) and Wiaan Mulder (41 off 27 balls), none of the other JSK batters offered resistance. For the Royals, Ottneil Baartman picked up two wickets, while Hardus Viljoen claimed three.
“I just think it’s sticking to the same processes and backing up your training and building up to the game, backing up those things. Yeah, it’s just really cool and awesome to have a coaching staff like we do and players like we do. A lot of senior players that back you and yeah, it’s really cool,” Pretorius said after the win.
“(On Qualifier 2 vs SEC) Yeah, so I think a good night’s rest will be a good start. Obviously, the Sunrisers are a world-class bowling attack, so reset, refocus and then hopefully go again tomorrow.”
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