SA20 2025 – Paarl Royals vs Pretoria Capitals Tips and Betting Preview

There is a double header of action in the SA20 season on Saturday and we head to Boland Park for the opening leg of it as the leaders Paarl Royals go up against a Pretoria Capitals who are eager for a win in this one.

The Capitals begin the day outside of the top four in the table and need a win to get themselves back in that frame. A Royals win here would put them on the fringes of securing a top four spot once again even with a quarter of the regular season left.

Paarl Royals

When you consider that the Paarl Royals were written off as complete outsiders before a ball was bowled this season, for them to be on top spot in the second half of the campaign and with the potential to push on and achieve a high finish in the table speaks volumes of how well they have done. You can argue that they were fortunate to avoid the rain that has been doing the rounds but that only means that they have had to win matches and they have been doing that.

The Royals have won five of their six matches so far this term but the interesting thing is that none of them have been with a bonus point so they are a team who have got used to holding their nerve when it matters and that is never a bad trait to have. I still think the Royals are a little top heavy with the bat but it hasn’t come back to haunt them yet. They do look strong with the ball, especially with these pitches beginning to tire a little.

Pretoria Capitals

The Pretoria Capitals went into the season as the second favourites for glory but it is fair to say that their campaign hasn’t gone to plan at all so far. Unlike Paarl, they haven’t been able to dodge the rain which hasn’t been ideal, but even then they have not played their best cricket and have come up short too often. They have just one win and three washouts from their six matches but despite that, they are only a point off the top four so all isn’t lost yet.

The big problem that the Capitals have had is with the ball. In two of the four matches they have completed they have conceded over 200 on two occasions and even the 149 they shipped in Gqeberha earlier in the week was a score which was a lot more than what they should have done. Their batting has also twice scored 200 but it isn’t going to matter if they can’t come good with the ball, particularly at the end of the innings.


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Key Players

Joe Root is becoming more of a factor for the Paarl Royals and while he failed with the bat in the last match, he is the glue which the bigger hitters can bat around and as we go deeper into this competition his spin bowling could be useful.

Will Jacks is the equivalent for the Pretoria Capitals in terms of the fact he opens the batting and is becoming more important as a bowler. He will look to unleash his big hitting on the Royals attack here and if he does he could see Pretoria out in front at halfway.

Betting

Will Jacks is becoming more of an influence with the ball for the Pretoria Capitals and on this pitch I would expect that to continue. He hasn’t made the impact with the bat that he would have wanted to over the course of the tournament yet but it is only a matter of time before he comes good in that department and it might be that this Paarl Royals side are the ones to bring that out of him. If that is the case then I would be very confident of him covering his performance.

He might not even need to contribute with the bat to cover a 36.5 point line because spin has been king at Boland Park so far in this event and on a hot day in a day game I’ve got to think that will remain the case and with Jacks picking up two wickets in his last match that certainly bodes well. Even a wicket would mean we only need 17 runs from him. He made up a total of 39 points in what was an average game with bat and ball in the reverse meeting and I’m expecting 37 here at the very least.

Tips

Back W.Jacks’ Performance – Over 36.5 points for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365