Paarl Royals Pull Off Highest Run Chase In SA20 History To Beat Pretoria Capitals By 8 Wickets, Joe Root Smashes Unbeaten 92

Pretoria Capitals vs Paarl Royals, SA20 2025: Paarl Royals scripted history with a remarkable 8-wicket victory over Pretoria Capitals in match 12 of the SA20 2024 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Saturday.

This was the third consecutive victory for the Royals in the ongoing SA20 season and they now stand second in the points table with 12 points under their belt.

Paarl Royals pulled off the highestsuccessful run chase in SA20 history. They chased down 213-run target in 19.4 overs on the back of half-centuries from Joe Root and Rubin Hermann (56 off 33) whereas David Miller played a fiery cameo of 48 runs in just 24 balls.

Miller smashed four boundaries and two sixes.

Root was the top run-getter for Paarl as he registered his highest T20 score, smashing an unbeaten 92 runs in just 60 deliveries with the help of 11 fours and two sixes. He surpassed his previous best of 90* against Australia in 2013.

Paarl Royals went past Joburg Super Kings’ previous record of the highest SA20 run chase. They had chased down 205 during a match against Durban Super Giants last season.

Top 5 Highest Run-Chases in SA20 History:

Paarl Royals – 213/2 (Chased 213) vs Pretoria Capitals, SuperSport Park, January 18, 2025

Joburg Super Kings – 209/3 (Chased 205) vs Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg, February 3, 2024

Joburg Super Kings – 182/2 (Chased 179) vs Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg, January 24, 2023

MI Cape Town – 175/2 (Chased 173) vs Paarl Royals, Cape Town, January 19, 2024

Sunrisers Eastern Cape – 172/8 (Chased 172) vs MI Cape Town, Cape Town, January 18, 2023

After opting to bat first, Pretoria Capitals posted a massive total of 212/5 in their 20 overs with Will Smeed (54) being the top run-scorer while Kyle Verreynne (45) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (42) made notable contributions.

Talking about Root, the former English captain’s knock was a masterpiece of placement, timing and innovation and showed that a T20 innings can consist of more than just power.

“I’m happy, it’s a great tournament, great to be a part of and have an opportunity to play T20 cricket,” Joe Root said. “Nice to get over the line, the middle-order is full of experience, we’ve Pretorious and Hermann at the top, they’re young and we’ve players with a lot of experience down in the middle. I knew partnerships were the key, anything could have been chased here, just wanted to stay in the game, the wicket was good, the ball flies and we can chase anything here.”

Root is set to return to the white-ball cricket for England in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Root last played an ODI game during the 2023 World Cup.

He has an impressive 6522 runs to his name in ODIs at an average of 47.60 in 171 matches he has played so far.

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