Pretoria Capitals climb to the top of the SA20 points table
Pretoria Capitals have staged a stunning turnaround in the SA20 2025/26 season. After starting the campaign with two losses, they now sit top of the points table for the first time this season.
Written off early due to struggles in previous seasons, Pretoria have answered the critics with 3 straight wins against Durban’s Super Giants, Paarl Royals and MI Cape Town. That run has pushed them past Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the summit.
Pretoria sealed top spot with a bonus-point victory over defending champions MI Cape Town. The 53-run defeat leaves MI Cape Town on the brink of elimination after their fifth loss of the season. MICT must now win both remaining games against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, including one with a bonus point, to keep playoff hopes alive.
This is the second instance of Pretoria defeating MICT in both the league matches during a season. The last time was during the inaugural SA20 season. Pretoria finished on top of the table that year and lost the final to SEC.
Another Sherfane Rutherford Show
Playing at home, Pretoria claimed a third consecutive win after losing 3 of their first 5 matches. They recovered from a slow start with a crucial 69-run fifth-wicket stand between Dewald Brevis and Sherfane Rutherford.
At 101 for 4 after 15 overs, Pretoria needed acceleration. Rutherford delivered. He took 20 runs off a single over from Trent Boult and surged from 7 off 10 balls to 24 off 14. He brought up a 50 off just 24 balls and powered Pretoria past 180.
Pretoria smashed 84 runs in the final 5 overs and set MI Cape Town a target of 186. Rutherford’s strike rate for the season now stands at 178.33, the third-highest in the tournament. His average of 71.33 is the highest in the top ten batters so far this season. His scores read: 53(27), 42*(35), 0(2), 47*(22), 47*(15), 25(19).
Pretoria Capitals Bowlers Seal the Deal
Pretoria took the traditional approach by bowling only 5 bowlers to complete their 20 overs. None of them conceded more than 8 runs per over.
Lungi Ngidi struck early by removing Rassie van der Dussen. Gideon Peters then turned the game decisively. He dismissed Ryan Rickelton in the powerplay and picked up two more wickets in his next over.
MI Cape Town collapsed to 54 for 5 in the ninth over. Dewald Brevis pulled off two outstanding catches, both while on the move, to end any resistance.
Keshav Maharaj returned 1 for 19, the most economical spell. Peters finished with 3 for 32. Andre Russell took 1 for 20, Ngidi 1 for 29 and Lizaad Williams 1 for 27. Every bowler chipped in with a wicket.
Key Performers for Pretoria Capitals this season
Shai Hope leads the team’s batting charts and is the league’s second-highest run scorer. He has 235 runs in 7 innings at a strike rate of 150.64. He is the team’s highest boundary-hitter (20) and is the team’s second-highest six-hitter (13).
Sherfane Rutherford follows with 218 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 178.33. He is the team’s top six-hitter with 19 sixes, has remained not out 3 times and has also taken 4 wickets.
Gideon Peters is Pretoria’s leading wicket-taker with 7 wickets in just 3 innings at an economy of 7.09. Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi follow with 6 wickets each from 7 innings.
With two league games remaining against Paarl Royals and Joburg Super Kings, Pretoria Capitals will look to maintain momentum and secure a top-two finish heading into the playoffs.