Dewald Brevis lights up opening night at SA20

Dewald Brevis starred with an unbeaten 41-ball 70 to help MI Cape Town to a winning start in the SA20 2023 tournament opener against Paarl Royals. Having restricted Royals to a modest 142/7 despite the half-century from Jos Buttler and captain David Miller's 42, Brevis killed the chase with a blistering start and a 90-run opening stand to script a comfortable eight-wicket win, also securing a bonus point.

Jofra Archer struck in his opening over, the third of Royals' innings after MI invited them to bat first. Buttler, however, led the recovery in a 36-run stand with fellow Englishman Jason Roy. A couple of quick strikes again pegged back Royals, reducing them to 56/3 in the 10th over before Buttler joined hands with Miller.

The pair put on 48 runs for the fifth wicket stand in 6.1 overs to propel their side past the 100-run mark. The opener, however, was cleaned up after missing a scoop shot on a full toss from Olly Stone soon after notching up his half-century. Miller and Eoin Morgan tried to up the ante, taking Sam Curran to the cleaners with a six each in the 18th over but Archer returned in the 19th to pick successive wickets and push Royals on the backfoot again. Morgan was run out last ball, trying to sneak in the extra run, as Royals finished with a 142 on a pitch that didn't exactly look conducive to shot-making.