Muthusamy hammers Capitals to vital SA20 win over MI Cape Town

Senuran Muthusamy hammered the Pretoria Capitals to a sensational four wicket win over Mumbai Indians Cape Town in their final SA20 pool match at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.

The win lifted the Capitals into fourth place on the SA20 log, while knocking out the hosts, however the Pretoria sides place in the competition playoffs hinge on their fellow Highveld side, the Joburg Super Kings losing to Durban’s Super Giants in the evening match at the Wanderers.

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The Capitals win came down to a superb final two overs from their bowlers, limiting MI CT to 163/9 batting first, before they were down and out in the chase only for all-rounder Muthusamy to smash three sixes and two fours in his unbeaten 18-ball 38 to get his team over the line.

Theunis de Bruyn, 42 off 33 balls (3×4, 2×6) played just as important a role in helping them get home, while captain Wayne Parnell, 12no off six (2×4), finished things with a flourish.

Innings revival

Muthusamy arrived at the crease with the Capitals almost dead and buried on 78/5 in the 12^th over, and along with De Bruyn they revived the chase with a 55-run sixth wicket stand off 34 balls.

De Bruyn’s wicket, caught by Kieron Pollard off the bowling of Nuwan Thushara halfway through the 18^th over made things incredibly tough for them, still needing 31 runs off the last 15 balls.

Only for Muthusamy to step up with a blinding 19^th over, reverse paddling Sam Curran for a six at the start and another at the end with 17 coming from it, allowing Parnell to finish the job with two boundaries in Thushara’s last over.

Earlier the Capitals chase got off to a poor start as Phil Salt (7) played an expansive drive at a Curran ball, only to edge behind to keeper Ryan Rickelton, while Will Jacks (1) also caught the edge of a Kagiso Rabada ball with Connor Esterhuizen taking the catch at slip with them 11/2 in the third over.

Last match centurion Kyle Verreynne, 34 off 22 balls (1×4, 3×6), took charge of a 34-run partnership with Rilee Rossouw (10) as they took their side to 43/2 at the end of the powerplay.

However George Linde claimed two big scalps, having Rossouw and Verreynne both caught by Rabada, as they slipped to 60/4, before Colin Ackermann (17) was caught by Curran off Liam Livingstone, leading to the fantastic end of innings fightback.

Strong start

In the first innings Rassie van der Dussen, 60 off 46 balls (4×4, 1×6) was the key batter for the hosts, while fellow opener Rickelton, 35 off 24 (3×4, 2×6) and a late innings flourish from Pollard, 33 off 16 (1×4, 4×6) helped them to a par score.

It was a strong start to the innings, as Rickelton got things rolling launching Eathan Bosch for a four and a six in the second over as 11 came off it.

There weren’t too many fireworks, but a steady stream of fours over the rest of the powerplay saw the openers move their side to 49/0.

Rickelton hammered Ackermann over deep midwicket for a big six in the seventh over, but the bowler got his revenge the next ball as Rickelton hit it to Rossouw who took a cracking catch at point, leaving them on 62/1.

The wicket slowed things down for the hosts and the last ball of the 10^th over saw Livingstone (6) sky Adil Rashid to keeper Salt to reduce them to 75/2 at the halfway mark.

Curran (3) also couldn’t get himself going and top edged Rashid to Daryn Dupavillon as they slipped to 81/3 in the 12^th over.

Half century

Van Der Dussen and Dewald Brevis (9) took their side past the hundred run mark, while the opener brought up his half century in style, smashing Muthusamy far over long-on, in the 15^th over that cost 15 runs and saw MI CT on 113/3 at the end of it.

But Brevis fell two balls later, getting a faint edge to a Parnell delivery to be caught by Salt, which brought Pollard in to join Van Der Dussen.

The West Indian then dominated a 34-run fifth wicket stand, smacking Parnell for a six, followed by two in Rashid’s 17^th over that went for 15, and a six and a four in Parnell’s 18^th that went for 12.

However Van Der Dussen’s wicket off the first ball of the 19^th over, caught by Ackermann off Bosch, sparked a late innings collapse that saw just 15 runs off the last two overs for the loss of five wickets.

Three wickets in Parnell’s final over saw him end with good figures of 4/33, while Rashid, 2/26, and Bosch, 2/31, backed him up.