‘I think both with the ball and in the field, we were exceptional,’ Pretoria Capitals captain Kyle Verreynne said about their performance against the Joburg Super Kings. Photo: Sportzpics
It wasn’t just Lance Klusener who noticed that his Durban’s Super Giants team lacked a killer instinct in Season 3 of the SA20.
Pretoria Capitals’ newly appointed captain Kyle Verreynne is of the same view.
Verreynne was reflecting on their win against Joburg Super Kings on Tuesday night, and wished they did things differently earlier in the tournament, which could have perched them up in a better position leading up to the playoffs.
The Capitals thrashed Joburg by six wickets at SuperSport Park in Centurion with the help of some lethal wicket-takers on their roster.
Joburg could only reach 99/9 in 20 overs, with Migael Pretorius claiming 3/22, while Senuran Muthusamy and Gideon Peters both bagged 2/15.
Marques Ackerman then scored 39 off 22 balls as Pretoria reached the 100-run target in only 12 overs.
They also made five changes to their squad ahead of the JSK match.
“Our fielders did really well. I think we obviously had a tough run at it in this competition, so the message from myself and coach was to just keep it nice and simple. I think both with the ball and in the field, we were exceptional,” Verreynne said.
“I think we were also really ruthless, which is something we lacked in this tournament. When we sort of had them under the pump, we just kept going and put more pressure on them.
“With the way we fielded as well, it was really impressive.”
The captain’s armband was given to Verreynne after Rilee Rossouw withdrew due to the birth of his child.
Australians Ashton Turner and Tom Rogers appeared for the Capitals, alongside pace bowler Peters, all of whom made their debuts.
Will Smeed returned to the open the batting alongside the new vice-captain, Will Jacks.
Verreynne said the new changes brought some hunger to the team.
“With any sport, as soon as you freshen up and get new guys, you get that immediate impact of guys that are hungry,” he said.
“We had five changes today, so we had five guys who were sitting on the sides and hungry to go out and contribute to the team.
“In saying that, the guys that missed out were also exceptional.”
He said the addition of the Australian players were good for the team and him as a captain. “They are comfortable in their own skins and know what they want to do,” he said.
Five teams remain in contention to make the playoffs, after DSG failed to make the cut.
After eight matches, the Capitals are a point behind JSK, who have 15 points.
The Capitals, however, have one more bonus point than JSK. Only four teams will enter the playoff round.
The win against Joburg means the Capitals still have a shot at making the playoffs, but face a gruelling task ahead: facing MI Cape Town twice.
“It was very important to get this win. Something we spoke about was getting momentum as we get into this back stretch now. We have two games against MI left, and if things go our way, then we’ll have five games left,” Verreynne added.