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MI Cape Town batters Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen pose a serious threat to the Paarl Royals in Qualifier 1 at St George’s Park on Tuesday. Picture: RON GAUNT/SA20
MI Cape Town batters Ryan Rickelton and Rassie van der Dussen pose a serious threat to the Paarl Royals in Qualifier 1 at St George’s Park on Tuesday. Picture: RON GAUNT/SA20

The SA20 has bustled into the final straight and is rushing headlong into the knockout stages starting with Playoff 1 at St George’s Park on Tuesday (5.30pm).

Four knockout games in five days will ultimately decide if the third edition of the popular tournament will crown a new champion, or if the Sunrisers Eastern Cape will manage a three-peat.

Gqeberha hosts the tournament’s two best teams for the opening knockout clash, with MI Cape Town and the Paarl Royals tackling each other with little to separate them.

They got one over each other in the round-robin stage, winning their home games against each other.

They both finished with seven wins out of 10 games.

The only difference is that MI Cape Town collected five bonus-point wins while the Royals managed none.

So for the majority of the games MI Cape Town won, they did so convincingly.

Whether they can maintain that intensity will be revealed during what is expected to be an action-packed evening in Nelson Mandela Bay.

MI Cape Town’s charge has been led by their devastating and consistent opening duo of Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton. 

Despite being rested for the final league match of the season against Pretoria Capitals at Newlands on Sunday, Van der Dussen tops the run-scoring charts with 330 runs at an average of 55 and 134.15 strike-rate. ​ 

Rickelton has been equally impactful with 259 runs at an average of 51.80. ​ 

MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan spoke on Monday of the journey the team had taken from finishing at the bottom of the log last season, to topping it this year.

“In the last couple of years, we have played good cricket but we haven’t finished well,” Khan told a news briefing.

“I feel like this year we have just turned that around. Whoever has got the opportunity has performed for the team.

“This has been the massive difference, all of the players are contributing, everybody is in form and the biggest thing is we are enjoying it. We are having fun.”

MI Cape Town will take confidence from having won the opening game of the tournament against the Sunrisers at St George’s Park, the only match Adrian Birrell’s team lost at home.

“A win always gives you confidence. But this is a qualifier, a big game and you have to play good cricket.

“We’ve had a great last four or five games. We are playing amazing cricket and that will also give us that positive mindset to go for that game.”

The Royals will have put to bed thoughts of their last game at St George’s Park where they conceded a bonus-point win to the Sunrisers on Saturday.

Young opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius will look to play a crucial role and add to his 323 runs at 32.30, which has put him in second place on the run-scoring list this season.

English stalwart Joe Root has left so it will be up to the other experienced members of the team to help carry the team through the next phase.

Rubin Hermann has also shown much promise with the bat and played some telling innings which will pose a threat to MI Cape Town. 

There was good news for the Royals on Monday when kingpin David Miller was declared fit for the game.

Negotiating the power plays with the least damage will be crucial at St George’s as well as which side adapts best to the conditions which have been tricky at this venue.

Meanwhile, the Sunrisers face the Joburg Super Kings in Wednesday’s eliminator at Centurion and the winner will face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2, also at Centurion, on Thursday.

The final is at the Wanderers on Saturday.

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