NEW DELHI: 18-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius stole the highlight in his SA20 debut, smashing a blistering 97 off simply 51 balls to assist Paarl Royals safe a dominant nine-wicket victory over Sunrisers Japanese Cape on Saturday.
His innings, stuffed with commanding drives and highly effective pulls, included 10 4s and 6 6s, exhibiting his extraordinary energy and composure within the center.
Regardless of narrowly lacking out on a century, Pretorius remained grounded, prioritising the win above particular person milestones. “I used to be simply fascinated by profitable the sport, to be sincere, earlier than taking part in,” he shared within the post-match press convention. “However, I imply, I’d take that (profitable the sport over particular person milestone) any day. In the event you had advised me earlier than the sport that I’d get that rating, I’d’ve taken it with out hesitation.”
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Recognized for his all-round talents, Pretorius has balanced his cricket profession with lecturers through the years. He credited his faculty Cornwall Hill School for the help he acquired in managing schoolwork whereas excelling on the cricket discipline.
“They have been extremely useful. They supported me quite a bit with schoolwork, permitting me to give attention to cricket whereas nonetheless balancing lecturers,” stated Pretorius, including that it’s been a troublesome however thrilling yr for him. Awaiting his Matric outcomes on Monday, Pretorius is happy about what lies forward.
Through the match, Pretorius shaped a vital 132-run partnership with former England captain Joe Root. Root performed a composed knock of 62 not out off 44 balls, serving to to information the Royals dwelling after Pretorius was dismissed.
Regardless of a robust innings from Aiden Markram, who scored 82 off 49 balls for Sunrisers, the Royals’ bowlers held their very own, with Kwena Maphaka (2/35) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/27) conserving Sunrisers to 175/5.
With this convincing victory, the Royals head into their subsequent conflict towards MI Cape City with confidence on Monday, whereas the Sunrisers, after back-to-back defeats, have loads of pondering to do earlier than dealing with Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday.
