When Roston Chase walked out after the dismissal of opener Connor Esterhuizen, eyebrows were raised. Normally a middle-order batter, Chase, who also surprisingly replaced Andre Russell in the playing XI, had batted above No. 4 just nine times in his T20 career. The 33-year-old, sporting the nickname ‘Young Ross’ on his jersey, ably assisted compatriot Shai Hopethe other West Indies player at the heart of Capitals’ turnaround, who went on to score a record century.

By his own admission, Chase was taken aback when Ganguly hurried him to gear up and bat one down. “I was quite actually shocked because I was just sitting down expecting probably one of the other guys to go, but then Ganguly just got out and said, ‘Chase, you’re on, you’re on,’ and that was it,” he told Hindustan Times during a select media talk at Kingsmead.

Trust Ganguly to know a thing or two about Durban and promoting batters up for masterstrokes. It was here at Kingsmead where the former India captain had smashed a magnificent 111 not out against Kenya in the 2003 World Cup semifinal. Two years later, as the astute leader, Ganguly promoted MS Dhoni to No. 3 against Pakistan in an ODI at Vizag. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Capitals captain Keshav Maharaj explained that the move was preferred given Chase’s batting strength against spin. And the all-rounder justified the decision immediately, getting down on one knee to reverse-sweep Noor Ahmad for a boundary and smashing South Africa’s T20 World Cup-bound Kwena Maphaka for twin sixes in a single over.

Chase scored 24 off 15 balls, but Capitals had another plan: SA20 witnessed its first-ever retired out. Hope defended the unusual tactic, acknowledging that while it might feel odd for a batter in rhythm, the team fully understood the strategy behind it.

“Not entirely, because it’s happened before. I’ve been playing against him and he’s been retired out. I’m not sure how many times it’s happened in cricket. But I must say, as a batter, when you’re going at a decent strike rate and then you’re just called off, you might feel a bit bad. But we know what a dangerous player Sherfane Rutherford can be. He didn’t get off this time, but that’s just how it goes. Roston could have hit the next few balls for sixes, that’s just how it goes as well. But we understood the reason, so I don’t think we’re too worried about that decision,” Hope explained in the post-match conference.

He added that he would have been “very surprised” had Ganguly asked him to retire out.

Hope, who scored a career-best 118* from 69 balls, the highest by a batter in SA20 history, was also part of a tactical move made the night before the match. Capitals had experimented with two opening combinations in their first four completed games, but Hope was promoted up the order on Wednesday, and the decision paid off.

“I was asked yesterday if I was comfortable doing it. I’m one of those guys, if they ask me to open, bat at nine or ten, I’ll try to be the best number 9-10. But yeah, if I get more deliveries, especially in the Powerplay, I can give myself a better chance to go as deep as possible and set up the game for the Beveruses, Rutherford, and guys at the back end who finish games. Today was just one of those days, I was told I’m opening. Just got to do it,” he explained.

However, with 18 runs needed in the final over, it was Chase who ended Buttler’s chance. He bowled two perfect Yorkers while two of Buttler’s partners fell to run-outs, sealing a 15-run Capitals victory.

“I was just thinking about nailing my yorkers, that’s one of my strengths. I wanted to start the over well and put Buttler under pressure, and I did well. After the first ball, I thought he might scoop, so I brought the field up from cover and sent back the final leg because if he tries to hit over cover, I have a better chance of bowling a dot ball or preventing a boundary,” Chase later explained, describing the plan behind his final-over heroics.

Pretoria will play their next game against Paarl Royals on January 10 at the Boland Park.