Bonus-point win lifts Pretoria Capitals to the top

Pretoria Capitals ascended to the top of the points table following their 53-run bonus-point victory over MI Cape Town, their third consecutive win. The loss anchored MI Cape Town to the bottom and extinguished their realistic playoff hopes.

Asked to bat first, Capitals managed only 41 runs in the PowerPlay. Connor Esterhuizen hit three fours in the second over, but Shai Hope fell immediately after hitting a six. Esterhuizen was bowled by Kagiso Rabada in the fifth over.

The innings stalled until Wihan Lubbe hit a six in the 10th over, but he fell two balls later. Jordan Cox struggled before being bowled by a Rabada yorker in the 13th over.

The partnership of Dewald Brevis and Sherfane Rutherford then changed the game. After a slow start, Rutherford blasted Trent Boult for 20 runs in the 16th over. Brevis followed with two sixes off Rabada in the 17th.

Rutherford was dropped twice in the 18th over and reached a 24-ball fifty in the next. Despite losing both set batters in the final two overs, Capitals finished strongly with 64 runs from the last five overs, posting 185/6.

MI Cape Town's chase began with Rassie van der Dussen hitting a six and two fours before falling in the third over. Reeza Hendricks started well, but Ryan Rickelton fell in the sixth over.

Nicholas Pooran started with a six and a four but was dismissed in the seventh over after hitting another six. His wicket triggered a collapse, with the score sliding from 46/2 to 55/6 by the 10th over. Gideon Peters removed Corbin Bosch and Karim Janat in one over, and Keshav Maharaj dismissed George Linde.

Hendricks watched the collapse from the other end. His unbeaten 68 off 50 balls was not enough. He accelerated late, hitting two sixes in the 18th over and finishing with two fours and a six, but MI Cape Town fell 53 runs short, all out for 132.

Brief Scores: Pretoria Capitals 185/6 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 53, Kagiso Rabada 2-33) beat MI Cape Town 132 in 20 overs (Reeza Hendricks 68*; Gideon Peters 3-32) by 53 runs.