Stats - Pretoria Capitals script stunning escape to victory

Pretoria Capitals were 7 for 5 in their SA20 game against Joburg Super Kings before Sherfane Rutherford and Dewald Brevis took them to a winning total

Sampath Bandarupalli

18-Jan-2026 • 3 hrs ago

Pretoria Capitals scripted a stunning recovery in the SA20 on Saturday night, rising from the depths of 7 for 5 to put up 143 for 6, thanks to Sherfane Rutherford and Dewald Brevis, and then stopping Joburg Super Kings 21 runs short. Here's the story in numbers.

7 - The Pretoria Capitals score when they lost their fifth wicket against Joburg Super Kings in Johannesburg. Only once before did a team go on to win a men's T20 after losing half their side with less than ten runs on the board.

On the previous occasion, it was Baroda at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Gujarat in the 2010-11 season. They chased down 129 after being at the same score as Capitals - 7 for 5.

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The previous lowest total at the fall of the fifth wicket after which a team won a men's T20 batting first was 13, by Nondescripts Cricket Club against Kalutara Town Club in 2018 (excluding truncated matches).

10 for 5 - Capitals' total in the powerplay is the lowest by any team in a men's T20 from which they went on to win (where ball-by-ball data is available). The previous lowest was 12 for 2 by Mexico against Costa Rica in 2024, when they successfully defended 93.

0 - Never before has a team scored fewer in the powerplay than Capitals' 10 for 5 in a men's franchise T20 league match. The previous lowest was 12 for 2 by Uthura Rudras in SLPL 2012 and 12 for 4 by Perth Scorchers in BBL 2018-19. The previous lowest in the SA20 was 17 for 4 by Super Kings against Paarl Royals in 2023.

7 - The lowest team total at the fall of the fifth wicket in the SA20, and also the second-fewest anywhere in a men's franchise T20 game. Kochi Tuskers Kerala were 6 for 5 against Deccan Chargers in IPL 2011.

4 - Number of batters to be dismissed for a duck in Capitals' innings. Only three teams before them went on to win a men's T20 when they had as many as four batters in the top six being dismissed for ducks.

74* - Sherfane Rutherford's score after walking out to bat at No. 7 on Saturday. It is the highest individual score while batting at No. 7 or lower in the SA20.

Rutherford has scored 163 runs without being dismissed in his three innings at No. 7 in this edition of the SA20.

He has 40-plus scores in all those innings, putting him in a select list of players with three 40-plus scores while batting at No. 7 or lower in a men's T20 tournament.

103 - Partnership between Dewald Brevis and Rutherford for the sixth wicket for Capitals. It is the first century partnership in the SA20 for the sixth (or lower) wicket.

Brevis and Rutherford have shared two other 50-plus stands in this edition, both for the fifth (or lower) wicket. Only nine pairs before them had three (or more) 50-plus stands for the fifth (or lower) wicket in a men's T20 tournament.

3.5% - Capitals' win probability at the end of the powerplay overs, as per ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster. Capitals were 10 for 5 at that point, and their predicted total was only 57. In the chase, at the same point, Super Kings' win probability was 74.46%, with the scoreboard reading 40 for 1.

65 -Super Kings had 58 on the board when their fifth wicket fell, meaning the two teams had scored a total of 65 for their first five wickets. That's the second-fewest in a men's franchise T20 league match, behind the 54 in the Global Super League game in 2024 between Guyana Amazon Warriors and Rangpur Riders.

Sampath Bandarupalli is a statistician at ESPNcricinfo

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