Matchday 30 of the Betway SA20 saw the Pretoria Capitals beat the Paarl Royals by 59 runs at SuperSport Park on Tuesday, with both teams qualifying for the Semi-Finals.

Going into the SA20, the Pretoria Capitals were among the underrated teams in the league. However, consistency and a final result at home against the Paarl Royals have seen them become the team to beat going into the semi-finals.

The Capitals entered the game with qualification for the semi-finals secured, whereas the Royals needed to score 163 to eliminate the Durban Super Giants from the competition.

Kusal Mendis and Phil Salt had a blistering start to the game after being asked to bat first. The pair quickly rushed to 52 runs in three overs, displaying a batting masterclass early in the game.

For a while, Salt was aggressive, but lost his wicket when he nicked one back to Jos Buttler off the bowling of Lungi Ngidi.

PC was 71/1 at the end of the power play.

Mendis continued anchoring from the front and reached his first 50 of the SA20 in just 28 balls. He was later dismissed for 80 runs.

However, the damage was done, and with Colin Ingram and Jimmy Neesham contributing 41 and 22 runs, respectively, the home side went on to post 226-5 in their 20 overs.

Chasing 227 to win or at least 163 runs to qualify, the Royals’ response started in the worst way possible, losing three wickets for 38 runs in the powerplay.

Jos Buttler, along with Eoin Morgan, attempted to restore some hope for the visitors. However, Morgan was dismissed by Adil Rashid and left the team limping at 67/4.

Wickets fell quickly for the visitors, and when David Miller was caught for 11 runs, the writing was on the wall.

However, despite losing by 59 runs, the Royals managed to qualify for the semi-finals after a 70-run knock by Buttler.

Semi-final fixtures:

Pretoria Capitals vs. Paarl Royals, Wednesday, February 8 at 17:30 in Johannesburg.

Joburg Super Kings vs. Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Thursday, 9 February, 17:30 at SuperSport Park in Pretoria.