MI Cape Town are all but out of the tournament. They require Joburg Super Kings to lose and then to secure a huge bonus point win here to make the playoffs. This looks unlikely but I can see the Cape Town outfit winning the game.
Key Stats - Rickelton Top Tournament Run Scorer
- MI Cape Town’s Ryan Rickelton (335 runs, ave 47.85) is 1st in the SA20 runs list.
- MI Cape Town’s Reeza Hendricks top-scored with 41 off 43 balls against the Sunrisers.
- Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Quinton de Kock has scored 42, 77, 79* & 54 in 7 knocks.
- Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Marco Jansen top-scored with 42 off 23 balls vs MICT.
Dominant MI Cape Town
MI Cape Town lead 4-1 in their last five matches against Sunrisers.
Sunrisers Looking for Back-to-Back Wins
The Sunrisers have had a tough time in their last four matches, with one match abandoned, one win and two defeats.
Their last match against MI Cape Town saw another top-order failure, albeit on a tough pitch. James Coles (28 off 27 balls) and Marco Jansen rescued the Sunrisers from 69/5, adding a vital 45 runs for the sixth wicket to give them something to bowl at against an MI Cape Town side fighting for its survival in the tournament.
The Sunrisers attack put in a brilliant display defending their low total, with Marco Jansen (2/23, econ 5.75) and Senuran Muthusamy (2/25, econ 7.50) picking up key top-order wickets cheaply. Their top wicket-taker is Anrich Nortje (2nd spot on the wickets list with 13 wicket, econ 6.94), and he picked up the wicket of top-scorer Reeza Hendricks in returning figures of 1/29 (econ 7.25).
MI Cape Town's Fate out of their Own Hands
MI Cape Town have hit their straps late in the tournament, winning three of their last four matches to keep their thin playoff hopes alive.
Ryan Rickelton has had an incredible season, scoring 335 runs at a strike-rate of 162.62. Rassie van der Dussen has weighed in with 226 runs but at a slower strike-rate of 141.25.
Trent Boult (3/28, econ 7.00) and Corbin Bosch (4/34, econ 8.50) gave MI Cape Town hope by seeing the Sunrisers off for just 139/9 in their clash at Newlands on Friday.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs MI Cape Town Squads & News
Corbin Bosch was Player of the Match in the first of MI Cape Town’s back-to-back matches against the Sunrisers. “Happy to put in a performance when the team really needed it. We assessed the conditions really well quite early and bowled well in partnerships. Nice to see how everyone was on the mark. The competition hasn't gone the way we wanted, but qualification would be really special,” said Bosch.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape (squad): Tristan Stubbs, JP King, Jonny Bairstow, Patrick Kruger, Matthew Breetzke, Adam Milne, James Coles, Senuran Muthusamy, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje, Aiden Markram, Tharindu Rathnayake, Allah Ghazanfar, Lutho Sipamla, Lewis Gregory, Beyers Swanepoel, Jordan Hermann, Mitchell van Buuren, Marco Jansen, CJ King, Chris Wood.
MI Cape Town (squad): Dane Piedt, Corbin Bosch, Nicholas Pooran, Trent Boult, Dwaine Pretorius, Reeza Hendricks, Kagiso Rabada, Karim Janat, Ryan Rickelton, Thomas Kaber, Jason Smith, Daniel Lategan, Jacques Snyman, George Linde, Rassie van der Dussen, Tristan Luus, Tiaan van Vuuren, Tom Moores.