MI Cape Town will lock horns against Paarl Royals in the 11th T20I of SA20 on January 19 (Friday) at the Newlands Cricket Ground. Paarl Royals have managed to get a flawless start in the ongoing edition of the SA20 with consecutive victories while MI Cape Town has fallen in the pecking order with two defeats in three matches.
Hence, MI will be looking forward to recording an important win over the Royals. On the other side, the Royals will be rooting for another win to extend their dominance and secure a playoff spot at the earliest.
What have they done so far?
Interestingly, MI Cape Town has scored almost 200 runs in all their three matches. However, they have managed to record only a single victory. They lost their first match against Durban’s Super Giants via DLS method by 11 runs. In the second game, Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton completed a 200-run partnership for the opening wicket and eventually reached a total of 243.
Joberg Super Kings lost the game by 98 runs as they only garnered 145 runs after twenty overs due to the constant dismissals from one side to another. In the third match, MI Cape Town was defeated by Sunrisers Eastern Cape with a margin of four runs. Jordan Hermann scored a magnificent century for Eastern Cape (106) as they Managed to set up a target of 203. However, missing a couple of big hits in the last over, MI lost the game by a slight margin.
Paarl Royals started their 2024 SA20 campaign against the last edition’s runner-ups, Pretoria Capitals on January 12. Royals’ skipper David Miller helped his side reach a total of 160 as he scored 41 runs off 33 deliveries. Andile Phehlukwayo also played an important innings of 28 runs in only 14 balls. As the Capitals came to bat, they lacked a partnership throughout the match. Consequently, scoring only 133, the Capitals lost the opening match by 27 runs.
In the second game, the Royals travelled to the SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium to face Jimmy Neesham’s Pretoria Capitals again. After winning the toss, the Capitals decided to bowl first. Despite losing a couple of wickets in the powerplay, Paarl Royals managed to set up a target of 211 for Capitals as David Miller (75 off 42*) and Mitchell Van Buuren (72 off 40*) played two important innings.
For the Capitals, Will Jacks and Riley Rossouw scored half-centuries. However, after they lost their wickets, the whole team collapsed in the last five overs, eventually losing the match by 10 runs. Royals completed the hat-trick of victories against Joberg Super Kings on January 17 after they chased a total of 135 in only 14 overs, with Jos Buttler scoring the winning runs (70).
Head to Head Record
MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals have faced each other only twice, and both of their fixtures took place last year during the 2023 SA20. Nevertheless, Paarl Royals are yet to record their first victory against MI Cape Town as they lost both games last season.
Key Players
Ryan Rickelton (MI Cape Town): Ryan Rickelton has been in exceptional form in this edition of the SA20. The left-handed wicket-keeper batter has scored 243 runs in only three matches with an average of 81. In addition to that, Rickelton has smashed the most sixes (19) and the second-most fours (14) in the ongoing tournament. In all aspects, Rickelton is having a magical campaign in the 2023-24 SA20.
Rassie van der Dussen has come to Rickelton’s support in a couple of matches. However, the inconsistency of the middle and lower has been disappointing for MI. Moreover, they have faced problems in bowling due to the underwhelming display by part-timers.
Lungi Ngidi has taken eight wickets in the tournament, which is the highest number
Lungi Ngidi (Paarl Royals): Lungi Ngidi has taken eight wickets in three matches with an economy of 6.67 for the Royals. Interestingly, only Imran Tahir (5.77) and Kagiso Rabada (6.44) have been more economical than the Paarl Royals bowlers in the ongoing campaign.
Lungi Ngidi has also received support from the likes of Andile Phehlukwayo and Obed McCoy, who have taken four wickets each. In batting, the likes of Jos Buttler, David Miller and Mitchell Van Buuren have given reliable performances.
Predicted XIs
MI Cape Town: Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickleton (wk), Dewald Brevis, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Connor Esterhuizen, Kieron Pollard ©, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Olly Stone
Paarl Royals: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Wihan Lubbe, David Miller ©, Mitchell Van Buuren, Bjorn Fortuin, Fabian Allen, Lungi Ngidi, Obed McCoy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi
Prediction
MI Cape Town will be hosting Paarl Royals at the Newlands Cricket Ground and the home advantage has played an important role in the tournament until now. Kieron Pollard’s side stands a fair chance of handing the Royals their first defeat of the season while the Paarl-based side would be excited about playing in conditions where more than 400 runs were scored in the last fixture.