February 5, Gqeberha, MI Cape Town defeated the Paarl Royals by a commanding 39 runs in Qualifier 1 at St George’s Park, securing their first-ever trip to a SA20 final.

From the time Royals captain David Miller introduced Robin Peterson’s squad, they were better in every way.

With an outstanding 87-run opening partnership in only 9.2 overs, the opening batsmen Ryan Rickelton (44 off 27 balls) and Rassie van der Dussen (40 off 32 balls) set the stage for the commanding 199/4.

MI Cape Town was reduced to 91/3 as the Royals mounted a mini-combat, taking three wickets for a total of only six runs.

However, George Linde’s three sixes in his 14-ball 26 helped the table-toppers regain the upper hand.

Delano Potgieter (32 not out off 17 balls) and Dewald Brevis (44 not out off 30 balls) added 74 runs in the last five overs as the Royals lost discipline with a few of waist-high full tosses that drove Dayyaan Galiem out of the attack.

With Mitchell Owen and Lhuan-dre Pretorius taking 21 runs off Trent Boult’s first over, the Royals got off to a strong start in their run-chase.

Pretorius’ brief appearance (15 off six balls) was abruptly cut short by Kagiso Rabada.

With only skipper David Miller putting up any opposition with a 45 off 26 balls, the Royals were unable to gain any traction after that.

MI Cape Town celebrated further when captain Rashid Khan defeated Royals all-rounder Dunith Wellalage to surpass West Indian icon Dwayne Bravo as the top wicket-taker in T20 cricket.

The Royals will have another chance on Thursday in Qualifier 2 at Centurion, while MI Cape Town will go directly to the final on Saturday against the Wanderers.