Lhuan-dre Pretorius, at just 18 years old, made a remarkable debut in the SA20 at Boland Park, captivating the audience with an impressive performance that set a victorious tone for the Paarl Royals in the tournament. Partnering with the esteemed England cricketer Joe Root, Pretorius contributed to a substantial opening partnership of 132 runs for the first wicket. Although he fell short of a century by a mere three runs, his innings significantly contributed to the Sunrisers Eastern Cape suffering their second consecutive defeat this season.
Aiden Markram's blistering knock help Sunrisers Eastern Cape reach a decent totaal
Sunrisers faced a challenging beginning against the Royals’ bowling attack until Zak Crawley managed to break the momentum by hitting consecutive sixes off Kwena Maphaka. Nevertheless, Mujeeb Ur Rahman quickly dismissed both openers in the subsequent over, allowing the Royals to maintain their dominance by the halfway point.
In the latter half, however, it was Markram who shone brightly. After a cautious start, he began to accelerate the scoring rate. With Tristan Stubbs struggling to find his rhythm, Markram took it upon himself to consistently find the boundary in the closing stages before eventually being dismissed for 82. His contributions helped his team surpass the 170-run threshold, although they fell short by at least 20 runs on the day.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius's and Joe Root's seamless partnership help Paarl Royals chase down the target
In pursuit of 176 runs, the Royals quickly established their momentum as Pretorius ignited the innings with a boundary and a six off Marco Jansen in the second over. Root soon joined the action, hitting a six over Aiden Markram’s head, while Pretorius continued to accumulate runs, benefiting from a fortunate reprieve at short fine leg. He capitalized on this opportunity, dispatching Ottneil Baartman and Liam Dawson to the boundary with ease. Throughout this display of aggressive batting, Root remained a passive observer, witnessing the impressive performance of his younger teammate.
Reaching the century mark in just 10 overs, the Royals appeared to be on a smooth path to victory, with Pretorius advancing to 80 after launching another six. His sixth six brought him to the brink of a century on his debut, but he was ultimately dismissed leg-before-wicket for 97. Root and David Miller then concluded the match, with Root contributing a half-century to the team’s success.
SCORECARD: Sunrisers Eastern Cape 175/5 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 82; Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2/27) lost to Paarl Royals 176/1 in 18.4 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 97, Joe Root 62*) by 9 wickets.
