Raza four-for razes through MI Cape Town as Paarl Royals register huge win

MI Cape Town (MICT) suffered a significant blow to their SA20 title defence as they slumped to a fourth defeat in five games - their third at home, and second to Paarl Royals (PR) in this edition of the tournament. And those are not the worst of the statistics. Against PR, MICT were bowled out for 88 - their lowest score batting first in SA20's short history, and the lowest score batting first at Newlands in a full 20-over game across the four editions of the competition.

With half their fixtures played, MICT remain at the bottom of the points table, and will need to start winning - and potentially a few favours from other results - to make the playoffs.

PR, meanwhile, have recovered well from a massive loss in the tournament opener to move up to second on the log with a third successive win. They also did their net run rate a huge favour by chasing down the target of 89 in 13 overs to earn a bonus point.

Everything went right for PR after MICT chose to bat at what had been a high-scoring ground before Sunday. PR's crafty attack proved difficult to get away, and also dangerous, as Sikandar Raza, playing a competitive match for the first time at Newlands, picked 4 for 13, while Ottneil Baartman got 2 for 8 in 2.4 overs. PR lost three wickets in pursuit of 89, but eventually got there comfortably as David Miller sealed the win with a six.

After unsuccessful chases in their three of their first four completed matches, MICT opted to try something different and bat first against PR. But they found the going just as tough. Against a well-managed PR attack that used spin in the form of Bjorn Fortuin to start, rotated between the young quick Nqobani Mokoena and the experienced Baartman, and then had Raza's golden arm for the breakthrough, MICT scored just 33 runs in the first six overs and breached the boundary only twice.

It was their fourth-lowest powerplay in SA20 history, and showed a level of tentativeness they have not been known for. MICT also lost both openers after Rassie van der Dussen sliced Raza to square leg and Ryan Rickelton miscued Mokoena to mid-off. They were 53 for 2 at the halfway stage, and things didn't get any easier.

With questions still swirling over Jason Smith's surprise T20 World Cup inclusion, the man himself was unable to provide answers as he was bowled by Raza for 4. Smith came in at a tricky time, with MICT on 55 for 3 - Nicholas Pooran was spectacularly caught by Kyle Verreynne - and needed to get the score moving. He tried to cut Raza, but didn't have enough room to play the shot, and inside-edged on to his own stumps.

As a result, MICT were 61 for 4 in the 13th over. In his next over, Raza turned the screws further when George Linde popped him a simple return catch. Next ball, Rashid Khan tried to slog him over midwicket but mis-hit, and David Miller took a diving catch. For the second time in two games, Raza was on a hat-trick. He didn't complete it for the second time, but has taken seven wickets in the tournament so far, and is third on the bowling charts.

PR's chase didn't start as they would have liked it to after Lhuan-dre Pretorius was bowled third ball by a Trent Boult outswinger. Then Rubin Hermann was dropped on 0 off Kagiso Rabada and survived a review for caught behind. It looked as though things could get nervy, but PR soon settled.

Hermann hit the first boundary of the innings when he pulled Boult through midwicket for four, but it was Asa Tribe who put the result beyond doubt. His first boundary came when he cut Boult for four, then he clipped him over midwicket, and then smashed him over the sightscreen for six. In the next over, Tribe played a leg glance off Rabada for four, and then sent him over midwicket for six to close out the powerplay on 46 for 1. Tribe had 27 runs off the first 14 balls he facedm and finished on 34 off 28 balls.