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MI Cape Town v Sunrisers Eastern Cape: All you need to know
Both teams will be hungry for points in the early stages of the SA20 campaign.
Ryan Rickelton has been in fine form for MI Cape Town. Picture: SA20
Turning out in their third matches of the SA20 league, MI Cape Town will be hoping to build some momentum, while Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be eager to get their campaign off the ground when the two sides clash in Cape Town on Tuesday.
After finishing bottom of the standings in last year’s inaugural series, MI Cape Town have got off to a decent start this season, settling in third place with one win from two games, but they will want to rake in some more crucial points to keep pace with the tournament’s title contenders.
Things are not looking as good for the defending champions from the Eastern Cape, who are lying fourth in the first-round table after picking up just two points thus far from an abandoned fixture against the Joburg Super Kings. They will be desperate to turn things around in the early stages of the season.
Here are all the details about the match in Cape Town
Where and what time: Newlands Stadium, first ball 5.30pm
Who’s playing: MI Cape Town from Cape Town and Sunrisers Eastern Cape from Gqeberha
How to watch: SuperSport, channels 201 and 212
Squads
MI Cape Town: Tom Banton, Chris Benjamin, Dewald Brevis, Sam Curran, Connor Esterhuizen, Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Thomas Kaber, George Linde, Liam Livingstone, Kieran Pollard, Delano Potgieter, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Grant Roelofsen, Olly Stone, Nuwan Thushara, Rassie van der Dussen, Nealan van Heerden
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Tom Abell, Ottneil Baartman, Temba Bavuma, Liam Dawson, Sarel Erwee, Aya Gqamane, Simon Harmer, Jordan Hermann, Marco Jansen, Patrick Kruger, Dawid Malan, Aiden Markram, Adam Rossington, Caleb Seleka, Andile Simelane, Tristan Stubbs, Beyers Swanepoel, Daniel Worrall
Players to watch
The hosts will be looking to Ryan Rickelton to build on his fine form after the top-order batter contributed 185 runs in their first two matches.
Fellow batter Rassie van der Dussen scored a century in their last game against the Joburg Super Kings, and he too will be expected to play a key role if he hits his straps again.
The Cape Town side will also rely on the experience of the likes of Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada and former West Indies captain Kieron Pollard.
For the Eastern Cape outfit, local stars could use their knowledge of the conditions to get their campaign on track.
While they will hope for their international contingent to make a contribution, the Sunrisers will be relying on the likes of Proteas players Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs to stand up and deliver.
Last season
Sunrisers Eastern Cape won both matches between the two sides last year, but both games could have gone either way.
In their first fixture, the Sunrisers secured a four-wicket victory with just three balls to spare in a thrilling encounter in Gqeberha.
And just two days later the two teams met in Cape Town, playing to a very similar result as the visitors wrapped up a two-wicket win, again with three deliveries to spare.
The Cape Town side went on to miss out on a place in the playoffs, while the Eastern Cape outfit went all the way, lifting the trophy in the inaugural season of the popular T20 competition.
