Paarl Royals will be eager to continue their winning streak in the 2024 edition of the SA20 tournament as they will go one-on-one against MI Cape Town on Sunday at the Boland Park in Paarl. This will be the second time that the two teams will be locking horns with each other in the ongoing season of the tournament.
So far, everything has worked well in the favor of the Royals as they have excelled in all the departments, be it batting, bowling, or fielding. With a whopping 13 points to their name from three league matches, the Royals are at the top of the points table.
Jos Buttler, David Miller and Jason Roy will be the players to watch out for with the bat while the Royals will be hoping for the likes of Lungi Ngidi and Tabraiz Shamsi to lead with the ball.
As far as MI Cape Town are concerned, they have failed to make much of an impact in the Championship so far. The T20 franchise is currently occupying the fourth place in the standings with five points from two losses and one victory.
Bowling has been one of the pain points for the franchise, as they have consistently conceded a lot of runs in their allotted 20 overs. The franchise will be hoping to turn things back in their favor with players like Rassie van der Dussen, Dewald Brevis, Liam Livingstone, and Kagiso Rabada in the mix.
What has happened so far?
Paarl Royals kick-started the T20 Championship with a win against Pretoria Capitals by 27 runs and followed it up with another victory against the same team by ten runs. In the first game, the PR bowlers defended 160 runs while the second match saw them defending 210 runs in the allotted 20 overs. The Royals then hammered Joburg Super Kings by seven wickets.
Coming to MI Cape Town, they lost to Durban Super Giants in the first match by 11 runs but made a comeback in the second game by defeating the Super Kings by a massive 98 runs. The franchise failed to continue the momentum and ended up getting thrashed by Sunrisers Eastern Cape by four runs.
Then came the Friday evening fixture between the Royals and MICT where Ryan Rickleton’s unbeaten innings of 94 runs off 52 balls sealed the deal for the home side.
Head to Head Record
MI Cape Town enjoys a completely one-sided domination over Paarl Royals in South Africa’s domestic T20 Championship. The two teams have played against each other thrice in the history of the tournament and both games saw MICT scoring a win over Paarl Royals in the first season while the first fixture between these two sides was also won by the Cape Town-based franchise by 8 wickets.
Key Player
Kagiso Rabada (MI Cape Town): For MI Cape Town to get back in rhythm and score a victory on Sunday, it would be important for their key pacer Kagiso Rabada to deliver an exceptional performance. MI’s bowling department is heavily dependent on Rabada’s expertise in the shortest format of the game and his rich international experience.
So far in the T20 extravaganza, Rabada has not delivered a promising performance. Despite playing all four games for MI Cape Town, the seamer could pick only four wickets at an average of over 30. However, the bowler is expected to bring a change in his form from the game against Paarl Royals on Sunday.
Jos Buttler is in good form in the tournament
Jos Buttler (Paarl Royals): Jos Buttler will be the key player for Paarl Royals on Sunday. The England skipper has a lot of international and T20 experience, which can come in handy for his franchise in the SA20.
The wicketkeeper-batter has played a total of 114 T20 Internationals and has scored 2927 runs at an average of over 34 and a strike rate of over 144. Moreover, Buttler has done a good job so far in the tournament with a total of 169 runs to his name in four matches at a stunning average of 56.33.
Predicted XIs
MI Cape Town: Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Dewald Brevis, Connor Esterhuizen, Liam Livingstone, Kieron Pollard ©, Sam Curran, Thomas Kaber, Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Nuwan Thushara
Paarl Royals: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler (wk), Wihan Lubbe, David Miller ©, Mitchell van Buuren, Fabian Allen, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Obed McCoy
Prediction
Paarl Royals will enter the Sunday game against MI Cape Town as favorites owing to their splendid start in the SA20 2024. The franchise is ruling the points tally following their unbeaten streak of three matches in the T20 Championship.
On the other hand, MI Cape Town will have to put in extra effort and up their level to match the Royals in the forthcoming encounter on Sunday.