HOW THEY REACHED THE ELIMINATOR: PAARL ROYALS

It was a group stage of two halves for Paarl Royals, who have to travel to and win at the home of their Eliminator opponents, Joburg Super Kings, if they want to stay alive in Betway SA20 Season 2.

It seemed a smooth transition for the men in pink under their new coach Shane Bond, when they started the campaign with back-to-back wins over Pretoria Capitals followed by a home win over Joburg Super Kings – with a bonus point.

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Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo and Jos Buttler featured prominently for Royals as they set the pace early in the League.

A subsequent loss in the away Cape Derby against MI Cape Town was quickly rectified two days later at Boland Park, where Bjorn Fortuin shone in the reverse fixture, won with a bonus point.

Royals then went to Wanderers and completed a season double over JSK (which captain David Miller missed through a calf injury), before two back-to-back weekends lay ahead of them.

Those did not go well. First Durban’s Super Giants claimed consecutive bonus point victories (ironically Royals still secured a playoffs spot after the second of those), and then Sunrisers also claimed a double to leave the winelanders short of form and confidence heading into a must-win match.

STAR BATTER: JOS BUTTLER

If there’s one aspect of Paarl Royals’ game that has been most inconsistent it would be their batting. While all of their top six have made contributions, only Jos Buttler has shone through the season to date.

The Boss goes into the playoffs in third place on the Betway Player of the Season and Batter of the Season leaderboards having contributed 398 runs to Royals cause – the second most behind out of contention Ryan Rickelton. To reiterate his dependability, the England white ball has contributed five of Royals top nine individual scorers, including three fifties. Buttler will be critical to Royals’ playoffs hopes.

STAR BOWLER - LUNGI NGIDI

Much like Paarl Royals overall, Lungi Ngidi was a frontrunner in Bowler of the Season leaderboard early in the season but has tailed off a bit.

While Ngidi has been most difficult to get the better of at Boland Park, he produced one of the Season 2’s best spells of quick bowling on the Highveld while claiming 4-39 against Pretoria Capitals at Centurion. He has already got the better of his Joburg Super Kings’ captain and talisman, Faf du Plessis, this campaign and will look to lay down a similar marker come Wednesday evening.

FORM GUIDE

W vs Pretoria Capitals (H)

W vs Pretoria Capitals (A)

W vs Joburg Super Kings (H)

L vs MI Cape Town (A)

W vs MI Cape Town (H)

W vs Joburg Super Kings (A)

L vs Durban’s Super Giants (H)

L vs Durban’s Super Giants (A)

L vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape (H)

L vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape (A)

MOST RUNS

398 – Jos Buttler

HIGHEST SCORE

75* – David Miller (vs Pretoria Capitals, A)

MOST WICKETS

13 – Lungi Ngidi

BEST BOWLING

4-39 – Lungi Ngidi (vs Pretoria Capitals, A)

MOST 4S

43 – Jos Buttler

MOST 6S

13 – Jos Buttler, Jason Roy

SQUAD (matches played)

David Miller (captain – 9 matches), Ferisco Adams (0), Fabian Allen (8), Jos Buttler (10), Keith Dudgeon (0), Bjorn Fortuin (10), Evan Jones (1), Wihan Lubbe (10), Obed McCoy (9), Lungi Ngidi (9), Nqaba Peter (1), Andile Phehlukwayo (9), Jason Roy (10), Tabraiz Shamsi (9), Lorcan Tucker (0), John Turner (1), Mitchell van Buuren (10), Dane Vilas (3), Codi Yusuf (1).