Pretoria Capitals vs MI Cape Town, 22nd Match, SA20, 2025-26 - Commentary

As Keshav Maharaj said, Pretoria Capitals have had a good couple of weeks, they went back to the basics and that has secured them 3 wins on the bounce. They've two matches left and both are in the Highveld, they have the team for these conditions and they'll back themselves to nail a playoff slot with another win in he next game. The SA20 travels down south-west to Paarl as the Royals take on the Super Giants tomorrow. The conditions there will be chalk-and-cheese to what we saw here today. Do join us for that match as well. For now, cheers and bye..

Sherfane Rutherford | Player of the Match - I want to thank for being given the opportunity to play in the SA20. I just trust my process, just give myself the best chance of getting in and then going about with the process. It was very important to run singles, get myself in, once the seamers came on, I could trust my skills and put them under pressure. I just backed my ability - the important thing is to be in the situation, sometimes you think you can take the game on, but you need to swallow your ego and think what your team needs at that moment. That's exactly what I was thinking about. I was thinking about 180, but he (Dewald Brevis) just told me not to think about it and wanted us to just take it as it comes. 

Keshav Maharaj | PC Captain - Very happy, a disappointing start to our home leg, so happy with the emphatic win. At one stage, 150 looked far away, but credit to Brevis and Sherfane. But we had power in the back-end and credit to Sherfane for the finish. We were happy to take around 160, but the way the guys played, it gave us a bit of a buffer. And then, we started well with the ball and took early wickets. It has been a crucial couple of weeks for us, we were a bit rusty at the start, but we went back to the basics and that has worked well for us. We too wanted to bowl, the pitches here tend to get better as the day progresses.But the guys were positive and they said they'll do well with whatever the toss outcome would be.

Rashid Khan | MICT Captain - The way we started with the ball, we should have restricted them under 160. In this whole tournament, we struggled in the death, we have given so many runs in the first couple of games and today as well. That's an area where you don't get the momentum for the next innings. We got them in the first 12-13 overs but later on how they finished, they kept the game away from us. (Poor bowling or Rutherford's brilliance?) It's a mix, we bowled some good deliveries, it also comes to the catches as well. At that point where you drop the catch, it gives so much momentum for the opposition side. We were a little bit lacking with our execution. We bowled to them really well, it's just the last 3-4 overs, you trust your strength and I feel we haven't bowled according to what we wanted to, especially against Rutherford. In T20 it's pretty hard sometimes. Things don't go your way. You're trying your best. Everyone is very professional and they're very experienced as well. But sometimes you're trying your best to do and to bowl well but it doesn't happen. This is T20 cricket, it doesn't give you much of a time. You don't have much time to think about it. You have just 24 balls and you have to bowl in the right area. So I feel like it just doesn't go how we want it. But that's some of those days where you're trying to do different things but it doesn't go your way. So I feel like we still have that kind of ability and chances where we can make it to the top four. And I feel the last two games are very important. Anything can happen on the table and we will take one game at a time and see how it goes. We had that in mind that we need to forget those (first) five games. We lost those games, but we have two more games. You never know, you win two with a bonus point. It takes you to 20 points and maybe you finish in the top two. So I feel that's the kind of mindset we should keep. We have the kind of match-winners in the team where they can win the game for you. But it's just about keeping things away from your mind. What happened has happened. We just have to focus on the next two games. More importantly, we just need to focus on that and come with a better plan when we play the same opposition - Sunrisers. I back my team, everyone and hopefully they'll do the job for us.

21:17 Local Time, 19:17 GMT, 00:47 IST: After a difficult first half of the tournament, the Pretoria Capitals are peaking at the right time as they secure their 3rd straight win - this bonus-point win now propels them to the top of the ladder. For MI Cape Town, this could be the end of the road as far this season is concerned. They might not yet be officially eliminated, but they might struggle to make it to the top-4 even if they win their remaining two matches. The chase never really started - PC took the batting momentum with them and removed the MICT top-order within no time. Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton and Nic Pooran, the engine room of the batting unit were all gone and it was an uphill task from there on. Gideon Peters then struck thrice to ensure that there was no coming back. Reeza Hendricks held one end, but it was painfully obvious that he wasn't getting them anywhere near 148, the score needed to deny the Capitals a bonus point, forget about the win. He did pump in a few boundaries towards the end, but it was already a lost cause. The Capitals were superb with the ball, they hit the deck and got more bounce, and then their catching and ground fielding was simply outrageous. They've taken a giant step towards qualification and will look to ride on this wave of momentum.

Williams, from round the wicket