The battle for SA20 supremacy in the Cape ended in a stalemate this weekend, with both MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals winning their home games in the double-header.
Kieron Pollard and his MI CT teammates won their home game at Newlands on Friday night when they beat the visiting Royals by eight wickets.
Ryan Rickelton, with his unbeaten 94 off just 52 balls, was instrumental in guiding his team to 175/2 to successfully chase down the Royals’ 172/8.
But it was a hele ander storie in the return leg at Boland Park in Paarl yesterday.
At home, the Royals were a different beast and after being put in to bat by Pollard, Engelsmanne Jason Roy (68 off 46 balls) and Jos Buttler (54 off 42) trekked los with a gevaarlike 116-run opening partnership to guide the Bolanders to 162/3.
For the Capetonians, Sri Lankan Nuwan Thushara took 2/27 in his four overs.
It was a gettable total for the visitors, but when Bjorn Fortuin (3/15) got rid of Rassie van der Dussen and the sukkeling Dewald Brevis for ducks in the first over, they were reeling. And when star man Rickelton (5) smacked an Obed McCoy delivery straight into the air, the writing was on the wall.
The visitors never recovered, as the Royals won the match by 59 runs, bowling out MI CT for just 103.