Pretoria Capitals batsman Shai Hope says he’s elated after setting the highest score in the Betway SA20 match against Durban’s Super Giants at Kingsmead in Durban.
The Barbados native scored an unbeaten 118 of 69 balls, nine sixes and nine boundaries, to steer his side to a 15-run win against the Super Giants.
Hope, who is also the West Indies T20 Captain, formed partnership with his teammates, the highest 106-run with Connor Esterhuizen (37 off 28 balls).
“Great to contribute to every single win we have, scoring runs feels better when you win, after contributing such a score.
The crowds are amazing, when you come into the stadium, before you even start warming up.
The entire ground stands are full, it’s great to see all the fans, especially kids, coming to enjoy the cricket,” said Hope.
The 32-year-old says his international experience has helped him adapt to the local conditions and study the opponents.
Hope said it has always been his wish to feature in the tournament.
“It’s a very good tournament, watched it on television, it was always a good vibe but then being part of it now can see is very much at next level, very happy to be here and enjoying the tournament,” remarked Hope.
He says the performance will keep the fans coming to the stadiums, adding that any cricket fan would have enjoyed the match, and want to see games like that.
Moreover, he’s optimistic that the win will also motivate the team to win their next games and lift the trophy.
“It’s important to have momentum at the right time.
We haven’t played our best cricket yet, but we’ve shown we’ve got the capabilities of winning more often and being a strong team.
We’ve just got to keep building confidence and wins like this one will do that.
Maybe we’re peaking at the right time, but there are a lot of games to go,” explained Hope.
The win moves the Capitals to fourth place with 11 points, while the Super Giants, who were looking for their second win, fell to fifth position on eight points.
The Pretoria team will now face the Paarl Royals in the Cape on Saturday, while the Durbanites face Sunrisers Eastern Cape in in Kingsmead on Friday.
