PAARL: Sikandar Raza climbed deeper into the hearts of the Paarl Royals faithful when he struck a six off the final ball to clinch a six-wicket victory at Boland Park late on Tuesday.
Royals required six runs off David Wiese’s final over, and the equation was reduced to two runs off the last delivery, when Raza held his nerve in this Betway SA20 clutch moment to send the Royals fans into a state of delirium.
It also saw the Royals close out the highest record chase at Boland Park after Durban’s Super Giants had posted an imposing 186/5.
Raza finished on 27 not out (13 balls, 2x4, 2x6), but Royals had plenty of heroes on this dramatic night with Rubin Hermann (65 not out, 45 balls, 3x4, 3x6) and Dan Lawrence (63 off 41 balls, 2x4, 4x6) striking vital half-centuries to keep the chase afloat.
The third-wicket partnership between Hermann and Lawrence was pivotal, with the pair adding 106 runs off only 61 balls.
Lawrence was particularly severe on DSG’s spinners, smashing Simon Harmer for six along with taking a boundary and six off Liam Livingstone, to inject momentum into the innings.
It contrasted with Royals’ ace Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman delivering an economical spell of 2/22 amidst the onslaught from DSG’s power-packed batting unit.
The four Player of the Match candidates were Rubin Hermann, Dan Lawrence, Liam Livingstone and Aiden Makram, with Hermann winning 45% of the fan vote.
Captain Aiden Markram led the charge with 66 off 46 balls (2x4, 3x6) before Liam Livingstone (32 not out off 10 balls, 1x4, 4x6) and Heinrich Klaasen (29 off 18 balls, 2x4, 2x6) unleashed their power-hitting skills at the backend of the innings.
But ultimately it was not enough with the Royals moving up to second place on 19 points with their superior number of victories edging out the Sunrisers into third position.
Super Giants, meanwhile, remain in fifth place on 14 points and face a must-win final round-robin match against the Royals at Kingsmead on Saturday.