'Winning matters more': Pretorius after missing century on debut

NEW DELHI: 18-year-old

Lhuan-dre Pretorius

stole the spotlight in his

SA20 debut

, smashing a blistering 97 off just 51 balls to help

Paarl Royals

secure a dominant nine-wicket victory over

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

on Saturday.
His innings, full of commanding drives and powerful pulls, included 10 4s and 6 6s, exhibiting his extraordinary strength and composure in the middle.
Despite narrowly missing out on a century, Pretorius remained grounded, prioritising the win above individual milestones. "I was just thinking about winning the game, to be honest, before playing," he shared in the post-match press conference. “But, I mean, I’d take that (winning the game over individual milestone) any day. If you had told me before the game that I’d get that score, I would’ve taken it without hesitation."

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Known for his all-round abilities, Pretorius has balanced his cricket career with academics over the years. He credited his school

Cornwall Hill College

for the support he received in managing schoolwork while excelling on the cricket field.
“They were incredibly helpful. They supported me a lot with schoolwork, allowing me to focus on cricket while still balancing academics,” said Pretorius, adding that it’s been a tough but exciting year for him. Awaiting his Matric results on Monday, Pretorius is excited about what lies ahead.

During the match, Pretorius formed a crucial 132-run partnership with former England captain Joe Root. Root played a composed knock of 62 not out off 44 balls, helping to guide the Royals home after Pretorius was dismissed.
Despite a strong innings from Aiden Markram, who scored 82 off 49 balls for Sunrisers, the Royals’ bowlers held their own, with Kwena Maphaka (2/35) and Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2/27) keeping Sunrisers to 175/5.
With this convincing victory, the Royals head into their next clash against

MI Cape Town

with confidence on Monday, while the Sunrisers, after back-to-back defeats, have a lot of thinking to do before facing Pretoria Capitals on Tuesday.