CENTURION, South Africa, CMC – West Indies left-arm pacer Obed McCoy proved himself when he defied an about of cramp and held his nerve to bowl a tidy final over to formalize a 10-run win for Paarl Royals in their return match against Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Vincentian ended with one for 30 from his allotted four overs, but he was handed the task of bowling the final over with the Capitals requiring 14 to complete a successful run chase of 211 in front of a sold-out crowd at SuperSport Park.
McCoy, suffering from a severe cramp, which required assistance from the Royals medical team after each delivery, showed great character to concede only three off the final two balls, delivering a mixture of slower balls and cutters that kept Capitals tailender Hardus Viljoen pinned to a single end.
The result meant that the Royals completed the season double against the Capitals after their 27-run win this past Friday on home soil at Boland Park and fortified their hold on second in the standings on eight points with an inferior net run rate to leaders Durban Super Giants, on the same number of points.
Ambidextrous West Indies spin bowling all-rounder Fabian Allen did not bat for the Royals and conceded 14 in his wicket-less single over.
South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi was named Player-of-the-Match after he ended with four for 39 from his allotted four overs for the Royals.
Ngidi set the tone with two wickets in the first over of the run chase when he removed England international Phil Salt and Theunis de Bruyn before returning in the closing stages of the match to claim a further two wickets and pave the way for the heroics from McCoy.
South Africa international Rilee Rossouw hit 82 off 45 balls, and England international Will Jacks supported 58 off 34 balls to spearhead the Capitals’ chase with a partnership of 147 off only 77 balls for the third wicket to keep the match in the balance.
It was a SA20 record for any wicket at Centurion, eclipsing the 141-run partnership that David Miller and Mitchell van Buuren had put together for the Royals earlier in the day.
Ngidi got Roussouw caught at deep mid-wicket in the 14th over, and Bjorn Fortuin bowled Jacks in the next over to spark a period of turbulence for the Capitals, and they lost five wickets for 36 in the span of 24 balls to undermine their chances.
Earlier, Miller and van Buuren were excellent for the Royals after England white-ball captain Jos Buttler made 39, opening the batting to set the platform.
Van Buuren proved his maturity with a rollicking 72 not out off 40 balls, and Royals captain Miller played second fiddle in their partnership with the top score of 75 from 42 balls.
Miller was content to play the supporting role until he exploded in the final over when he struck fast bowler Eathan Bosch for three sixes and ultimately helped his side to a perfect 2-0 start to the tournament.
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