NEW DELHI: Ottneil Baartman delivered a sensational spell, headlined by a stunning hat-trick, to spearhead Paarl Royals' six-wicket win over Pretoria Capitals in Centurion and secure their place in the SA20 playoffs.

The right-arm seamer etched his name into the record books as only the second bowler in tournament history to claim a hat-trick, following Lungi Ngidi's achievement earlier in the season. Baartman's three-in-three came at the expense of Andre Russell, Lizaad Williams and Ngidi, capping off a devastating display with the ball.

Earlier in his spell, Baartman had already rattled the Capitals by striking twice in consecutive deliveries, removing Connor Esterhuizen with a clean bowled dismissal before pinning Jordan Cox leg-before. His outstanding figures of 5 for 16 dismantled the Capitals, who were skittled for 127 in 19.1 overs.

The haul also saw the 32-year-old surpass former Sunrisers Eastern Cape teammate Marco Jansen to become the leading wicket-taker in SA20 history, moving to 57 scalps.

Royals batters then comfortably chased down the target with 4.5 overs to spare, reaching 128 for 4 in 15.1 overs. It was sufficient to earn the invaluable bonus point that propelled the Royals to top of the SA20 standings with 21 points.

Royals now join Sunrisers Eastern Cape as the second team to secure a playoff berth.

Royals' run-chase suffered a couple of early stutters with openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Asa Tribe being dismissed cheaply by an inspired Lizaad Williams (2/28), but Rubin Hermann (46 off 28 balls, 5x4, 3x6) and Dan Lawrence (41 off 32 balls, 3x4, 2x6) put together a 52-run partnership for the third wicket to steady the ship before captain David Miller guided his team home with an unbeaten 28.

Royals are now primed to finish in the top two positions that will earn them a spot in Qualifier 1 as they still have two round-robin matches remaining against Durban's Super Giants at Kingsmead on Saturday and Joburg Super Kings at Boland Park on Monday.

The Capitals, meanwhile, have just one more match remaining against Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers on Saturday and will be hoping for maximum points to ensure their progression to the playoffs for the first time since Season 1.

Centurion will next host the Eliminator on January 22 after successfully selling out all five matches hosted this season at the Capitals' home ground.

(With PTI Inputs)