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Joburg Super Kings‘ (JSK) captain Faf du Plessis spearheaded his team’s seven-wicket win over Paar Royals on Thursday with a sublime half-century, which kept them alive in the race to the playoffs.
Du Plessis’s 87 off 55 balls, including 7 sixes and 4 fours, never allowed the Royals a chance after they had put up a modest 150 for 9 on the board.
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The victory put JSK level with Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) on 19 points, though they remain at the fourth spot, behind SEC on bonus-point count.
JSK’s opening partnership laid the foundation of the win as Du Plessis and Devon Conway (20 off 25 balls) put up a valuable 54-run stand for the first wicket, which was broken by Mujeeb Ur Rehman when he dismissed Convoy.
Keith Dudgeon got the wicket of du Plessis, but by then the JSK chase had reached 130 and the writing was on the wall for the Royals.
Leus du Plooy (18*) and Jonny Bairstow (8*) then took the Super Kings home in 17.5 overs.
Earlier, the Royals suffered an early setback when Sam Hain (2), who replaced the rested Joe Root, was dismissed on the second delivery of their innings by Donovan Ferreira who registered figures of 3 for 23.
The equally effective Lutho Sipamla (3 for 19) continued to shine, taking his tournament tally to 11 wickets.
Despite Lhuan-dre Pretorius (19 of 11 balls) and Rubin Hermann (28 off 26 balls) making brief contributions, it was Dinesh Kartik who stood tall for the Royals , scoring his first SA20 fifty with 53 off 39 balls.
The Royals were also without skipper David Miller, who is at home with his family following the birth of his child.
Paarl Royals have already secured their spot in Qualifier 1, where they will face MI Cape Town Gqeberha on February 4.
SEC, JSK, and Pretoria Capitals are competing for the remaining two playoff positions.
