Joe Root displayed his big-hitting skills yet again to lead Paarl Royals to the top of the SA20 2025 point table on Saturday. The English legend registered his career-best knock as the Royals chased down the record-breaking 212 runs against Pretoria Capitals.
Root, 34, top-scored with 92* off just 60 balls and captain David Miller smashed unbeaten 48 runs to help Paarl Royals chase down the biggest-ever target in SA20 history with eight wickets and two balls remaining.
The former England captain also registered his highest-ever T20 score, going past his previous best of 90* against Australia in 2013.
"I'm happy, it's a great tournament, great to be a part and have an opportunity to play T20 cricket," Joe Root said. "Nice to get over the line, the middle-order is full of experience, we've Pretorious and Hermann at the top, they're young and we've players with a lot of experience down in the middle. I knew partnerships were the key, anything could have been chased here, just wanted to stay in the game, the wicket was good, the ball flies and we can chase anything here."
Root is set to return to the white-ball cricket with England's campaign in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Root last played an ODI game during the 2023 World Cup and boasts an impressive 6522 runs at an average of 47.60 in 50-over international cricket.
Paarl Royals Playing XI: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Joe Root, Rubin Hermann, Mitchell Van Buuren, David Miller (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dayyaan Galiem, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Eshan Malinga, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi.
Pretoria Capitals Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Will Jacks, Will Smeed, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Rilee Rossouw (c), Marques Ackerman, James Neesham, Senuran Muthusamy, Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch, Tiaan van Vuuren.