Durban Super Giants v MI Cape Town – Preview

What does the SA20 second edition have on offer for these two sides? Will they brush away the disappointments and deliver this time? Or is It another tournament that will offer the same old results? These are questioning that ring inside the supporters’ minds of Durban Super Giants and MI Cape Town before Thursday’s clash at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.

In the inaugural SA20 tournament, Durban Super Giants and MI Cape Town finished fifth and sixth respectively on the log standings. Both were eliminated and failed to progress to the semi-finals. For Super Giants though, one would say they were unlucky not to go through the next round. They were tied on 19 points alongside Paarl Rocks and Sunrisers Eastern Cape. But the Net Run Rate was not on their side even though they pushed hard in the closing stages winning two matches in the quest for the semi-finals spot. It is now all in the history books and nothing can be done to change it. The main priority now, is how are they going to approach this year’s competition.

All eyes will be on captain Quinton De Kock to change the fortune of the Durban-based side. The 31-year-old clinical batsman recently participated in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia playing for Melbourne Renegades where he was snatched with a big fee. His spell though wasn’t successful the way it was hyped. He only scored 103 runs in 6 innings to have a BBL debut to forget. But that doesn’t mean you can treat him as a player that is out of form. He is now coming back to the venues where he is more comfortable and has a better experience. Then if they let him punch and bowlers don’t respond – he can explode anytime. That is why he is one of the most aggressive batsmen in the world.

Besides De Kock, the Super Giants are not short of hard-hitting players as Heinrich Klaassen, who recently announced his retirement from the Proteas Test matches, is known for his role as the finisher. Klaassen has one approach – to take the ball over the boundaries and has seemed to be doing that with ease. Also in the team, there is Jon-Jon Smuts, an experienced all-rounder and a great addition to the team as he won the competition with Sunrisers last year. It is more of a balanced squad with talent and experience.

Coming to MI Cape Town, it is so hard to tell what generally went wrong with them last season. They started the tournament brightly winning three matches, losing one, and had one no result in the first five matches. Then things took another turn losing all last five matches to end up with 13 points and lying bottom of the league. Are they short of talent? It is difficult to state that if you have Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, and Dewald Brevis in your squad.

The attention will be on Dewald Brevis to flourish with the bat. The 20-year-old Brevis has been nicknamed ” young AB” for possessing the qualities of the legendary AB De Villiers. In the past, Brevis has shown the world his precise and clinical batting which has made people fall in love with him. So, he has the opportunity to give out the entertainment to fans by clearing the boundaries. He is going to be the target of bowlers because getting rid of him will increase opponents’ chances to win the match. The huge blow for MI Cape Town now is the injury of captain Rashid Khan. The spinner was going to offer the experience and was going to form a formidable bowling partnership with Rabada and Curran.

What To Expect

For a week, it has been raining most part of its Durban so it shall be a field with big totals on the cards. The last time both sides faced off in the same venue, over 160 runs were scored by both teams. So expect another similar contest.

Prediction