As we head to the business end of the tournaments the already qualified Paarl Royals travel to Gauteng to face the under-pressure Joburg Super Kings in a game that could have significant bearing on the tournament's outcome.
2025 SA20 – Game 26
Joburg Super Kings v Paarl Royals
Thursday 30 January 2025 – 17:30
The Wanderers
As it stands, Paarl and through to the next phase. MI Cape Town secured their spot on Wednesday night as well, and Durban have already been eliminated. That means the final two spots for the SA20 knockout stage are being battled for by three teams, Joburg, Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Pretoria Capitals.
The Wanderers is a venue that’s well-known to most South African players. It is generally regarded to be batsman-friendly, although the last few games have not seen huge scores posted.
In recent times it’s been the team that bats second that has won – so expect whoever wins the toss to field first. The toss is always a 50/50 affair, but it’s worth noting that David Miller has won just two out of eight all tournament.
To Win Match
Joburg Super Kings 21/20 | Tie 25/1 | Paarl Royals 82/100
Joburg Super Kings
We have said this so often this tournament, but momentum is vital to a successful campaign. There is no doubt that JSK are a good team, but consistency is one thing that they are not.
While Paarl and Cape Town have lost once and twice respectively (MICT’s first loss was a touch-and-go DWL defeat), JSK have lost four of their eight games. Like the little girl with this little curl, when JSK have been good, they have been very, very good; but when they’ve been bad, they’ve been horrid.
Inconsistent JSK needing to find consistent form
JSK come into the game with one win from their five. If they are hoping to make any sort of play on reaching the final, they need to start recording some consistent results.
Last time out was a very poor performance from Faf du Plessis’ side. Mustering just 99 runs they were simply no match for the Capitals. They struggled with the bat and their fielding was poor. They simply didn’t turn up on the night. They cannot afford a similar performance on Thursday – it’s okay to lose, it is how you do it that matters and Tuesday’s effort left a lot to be desired.
Lutho Sipamla a shining light in dim JSK performances
Right now, the shining light for JSK has been the performance with the ball in hand of Lutho Sipamla. He took three for 26 in a losing cause against Pretoria, and he now has eight wickets at 18.88 in the tournament. Bowling alongside veteran Hardus Viljoen, the duo of quicks complement each other well, and they are great foils to the spinning assets that Du Plessis has at his disposal.
Devon Conway had a slow start to the tournament, but he has slowly come into his own and is now nicely amongst the runs. A classic striker of the ball as opposed to a bludgeoner, he failed against the Capitals but posted a stylish and undefeated 76 in the win over the Sunrisers.
Jonny Bairstow is another player who has been getting starts and is due a big knock. The England man is averaging 37.4 per inning and was the sole batting success in the poor outing against the Capitals.
Paarl Royals
The Royals are in great form with just a single loss from their eight games. They have shown remarkable consistency all tournament and average the loss of just over four wickets per innings – which is a fantastic record.
Two key players in the Paarl set-up have been Joe Root and skipper David Miller. Both may be missing for the trip to the Wanderers. Miller tweaked his groin last time out against DSG while Root is due to head off for international duty.
Paarl Royals with perfect blend of youth and experience
What has made Paarl such a formidable force in SA20 2025 has been their blend of youth and experience. As much as Root and Miller are key players, Paarl also have plenty of bright young stars who have also performed. The 18-year-old prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius is the tournament’s leading run scorer with 301 runs at a strike-rate of 172.
Kwena Mphaka emerging as another prodigious talent
Kwena Mphaka is another outstanding young talent. Already South Africa’s youngest-ever Test player, his ball to dismiss Heinrich Klaasen on Monday was one of the balls of the tournament. Bowling to one of the world’s premier T20 players Mphaka executed a perfect googly that found the leading edge of Klaasen’s bat for a return catch.
Mphaka is an undoubted talent, and he will enjoy bowling at the Wanders which is much better suited to his bowling than the pitch at SuperSport Park.
Another unsung hero for Paarl has been Rubin Hermann. While Royals batsmen like Root, Pretorious and Miller have caught the headlines it has been the steady performance of their number three batsman that has underpinned so much of their success. Hermann is the tournament’s eighth-highest scorer, averaging 37.4 per knock.
Paarl Royals ‘getting the job done’
Interviewed after the win over DSG at the start of the week, Joe Root gave an insight into the mentality that has made the Royals so successful. He said: “We’ve been reliant on everyone, in every player in every discipline, and while it hasn’t been pretty, it has been effective.
Getting the job done is an important part of T20 cricket.” With Root’s words in mind, it has been no surprise to see the former England captain bowling or seeing bowler Dayyaan Galiem bravely hitting the winning runs on Monday.
This is a team that trusts each other and where there is always somebody to step up.
Finally, Paarl are not just about their batsmen, they are a well-balanced team and as much as they top the list of leading run-scorers, they also have a player at the top of the wicket-takers list as well. With 13 wickets at an average of 16.62, Mujeeb Ur-Rahman is currently SA20’s leading bowler. He has been well backed up by a massive supporting cast, of whom Bjorn Fortuin has been the pick. Regularly opening the bowling Fortuin has eight wickets at 19.38.
Verdict: Paarl
The men from the Cape have their processes sorted, their form is good, and their confidence is high. They may be missing a few key players, but whoever comes into the set-up is simply slotting into a winning unit.
