Sherfane Rutherford of Pretoria Capitals plays a shot during the Betway SA20 Season 4 match 8 between MI Cape Town (MICT) and The Pretoria Capitals (PC) held at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa on December 31, 2025. (Sportzpics) New Year’s Eve turned into a night of fireworks for Pretoria Capitals as they recorded their first win of SA20 Season 4 with an emphatic 85-run bonus win over MI Cape Town at Newlands on Wednesday.The Capitals amassed a daunting 220/5 before bowling out the home side for just 135, with Sherfane Rutherford producing a sensational all-round performance on a night to remember in Cape Town.
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After being put under pressure early on, the Capitals found themselves reeling at 36/3 in the Powerplay, largely thanks to a testing opening spell from Kagiso Rabada, who was fit again. However, Shai Hope and Wihan Lubbe tied the inning with a decisive fourth goal, stopping the slide with calculated aggression.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Hope hit a composed 45 off 30 balls while Lubbe anchored the recovery with a smooth 60 off 36, ensuring the Capitals had a platform to launch from in the death overs. This platform was used spectacularly by Sherfane Rutherford and Dewald Brevis.The duo unleashed a breathtaking attack and added 86 runs in just 27 balls. Rutherford’s unbeaten 47 came off just 15 deliveries and included six towering sixes, while Brevis set the pace with a brisk 36 not out from 13 balls. The Capitals plundered 92 runs in the last five overs at a staggering rate of 18.2.Rutherford’s penultimate attack on Dewald Pretorius stunned the Newland crowd as the West Indian smashed four consecutive sixes, part of a sequence of six maximums in a row over two overs.In response, MI Cape Town’s hopes leaned heavily on openers Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen, who got off to a flying start with 60 runs in the Powerplay. But once the two fell in quick succession, the chase quickly unravelled.
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Nicholas Pooran briefly threatened to counter-attack, hitting Keshav Maharaj for four straight sixes in 25 balls off a six. However, Maharaj had the last word, dismissing Pooran and finishing with figures of 3/28 to break the backbone of the middle order.Rutherford capped a dream evening with career best bowling figures of 4/24 as MI collapsed Cape Town to seal a dominant win for the Pretoria Capitals and get their Season 4 campaign off to an emphatic start.A brief scorePretoria Capitals: 220 for 5 in 20 overs (Wihan Lubbe 60, Sherfane Rutherford 47 not out; Kagiso Rabada 2/48) MI Cape Town: 135 all out in 14.5 overs (Ryan Rickelton 33; Sherfane Rutherford 4/24, Keshav Maharaj 3/28)
