Paarl Royals lost their last couple of games in the league stage but since they had already sealed their spot in the playoffs in the ongoing SA20, they sort of experimented with their line-up, looking at life after Joe Root and testing their bench strength in the absence of their skipper David Miller.
Mitch Owen got his first taste of the SA20 in the last game but since he is coming off playing the knockouts and a tournament final in the Big Bash League, the stage might not be any new or different. However, the Royals would just hope that it’s not a case of momentum coming into the playoffs as they have been the best team in the tournament and Root leaving and them losing form shouldn’t become a reality.
On the other hand, there’s MI Cape Town, whose experimentation in the final league game showed the depth in the squad as despite resting a few of their first-choice players, the Men in Blue were able to bully the Pretoria Capitals into submission. MICT have been largely consistent in the third edition of the SA20 and after two poor seasons, the Men in Blue finally found a combination that seemed to be working for them and even though there are second chances here, they would want to seal the direct spot in the final and don’t go through the qualifier 2 route.
It’s a battle of two very good bowling attacks and hence, it might eventually come down to which side bats better. Royals have depended heavily on the two openers but the likes of Rubin Hermann, Dinesh Karthik and Miller himself have shown glimpses of what this line-up can do when in full flow while MICT too have a couple of their batters scoring consistently. The Royals might start as favourites but there’s very little to choose between the two teams and should be a cracker of a qualifier in neutral conditions in Port Elizabeth.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ryan Rickelton, David Miller, George Linde (vc), Dinesh Karthik, Rubin Hermann, Rashid Khan (c), Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Bjorn Fortuin
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MI Cape Town: Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Connor Esterhuizen, Dewald Brevis, George Linde, Delano Potgieter, Rashid Khan(c), Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult
Paarl Royals: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Mitch Owen, Rubin Hermann, David Miller(c), Mitchell Van Buuren, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Dayyaan Galiem, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi
