The Paarl Royals maintained their unbeaten start to their SA20 campaign by thumping the beleaguered Joburg Super Kings by seven wickets at Boland Park on Wednesday evening.
The Royals dominated all facets of the game to earn a valuable bonus point with the Super Kings well behind the eight ball.
The visitors are still searching for their first win from four matches, and on the evidence of Wednesday’s display, it doesn’t look like it will be coming their way anytime soon.
The Royals, meanwhile, appear to be a well-oiled machine under new coach Shane Bond.
Seamers shine
For all the talk about the Royals’ heavy reliance on spin bowling at their home ground, it has actually been the seamers that have been most impressive.
Bond, who was leading fast bowler with New Zealand’s Black Caps during his playing days, has certainly had a major influence in a short period of time.
Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi appears revitalised after a difficult international summer and is charging in with the type of energy not seen in years. He was magnificent in the previous victory over Pretoria Capitals at Centurion and followed it up with another superb performance of 3/17 to dismiss the Super Kings for just 134 in 19.5 overs.
The Centurion last over hero Obed McCoy was equally impressive again with the West Indies left-arm seamer ably supporting Ngidi with 2/31.
The Super Kings’ batting woes were exposed once more with Leus du Plooy holding the fort together on his own with a fighting 71 off 43 balls (7x4, 3x6).
In contrast, the Royals looked unstoppable from the moment they began their run chase.
Although the home side lost Jason Roy (5), Wihan Lubbe (39) and David Miller (2) along the way, they were mere speed bumps enroute to a convincing victory.
The Buttler show
Jos Buttler had not quite hit his straps in the earlier matches, but rediscovered his mojo in emphatic fashion.
Buttler dominated the chase through a couple of powerful drives down the ground, highlighted by a smash off Romario Shepherd that sailed into the stands.
The England white-ball captain ensured there would be no twists late in the game as he shepherded the Royals to victory to remain unbeaten on 70 off 30 balls (8x4, 3x6).
The Royals now move to top of the table ahead of Durban's Super Giants on net run-rate and can look forward to a weekend of Western Cape derbies against MI Cape Town with confidence.