Pretoria Capitals v Durban Super Giants – Preview

On Thursday 18 January, Pretoria Capitals will face off with Durban Super Giants in the SA20 match at Centurion. It has been a horrible start for last year’s finalist with the Capitals having suffered two straight losses. Meanwhile, the Super Giants have been a team to beat with three wins from three outings including bonus points in the last match against Joburg Super Kings. So, it promises to be a titanic match.

Capitals were an outstanding team last season. They topped the league standings from the start to the finish. Even though, they lost to the finals but the cricket they displayed made fans come for me. In all departments, Capitals were ticking the right boxes. They were a well-oiled machine and fearless. But things have changed a little. Two straight back-to-back losses in a space of three days last weekend against Paarl Royals came as a bit of a surprise to many. Isn’t it? But the Royals have shown more hunger in the current season and the results are showing with three wins from three games. Let’s leave the Royals though, the Capitals need to find a way to come out of this situation.

In the last match, they were challenged to chase a huge 210 total then came short by 10 runs. Meanwhile, the opening game saw them beaten by 27 runs having a target of 160 to win. These margin losses indicate the competitive team rather than being entirely outplayed. Rilee Rossouw has been a standout player with the bat for the Capitals scoring 111 runs in the process. His top score of 82 came in the last match where Philip Salt played a supporting role with 58 runs. But all their effort went in vain. Meanwhile, Daryn Dupavillon leads the way with three scalps for the Capitals.

Meanwhile, the Super Giants have been impressive in the three games winning all of them convincingly. In the last match against Super Kings, Heinrich Klaasen put them off the mud with 64 runs to take his side to 145 runs. Then bowlers did an incredible job on a tough surface as they went on to record 37 runs win. It was not the first time this season that Klaasen came to the rescue. In the opening match at Kingsmead Stadium, Klaasen provided a brutal 85 runs to take the Durbanites over the line chasing a mammoth total of 207 against MI Cape Town.

Richard Gleeson has been spectacular with the ball taking five wickets making the highest bowler for the Super Giants. So far Super Giants has shown that they are equipped with a strong batting line-up alongside arsenals of attackers. To record a victory will require a side to be at their best on the day.

What To Expect

A very cloudy day throughout. But the pitch has a history of big totals. That is what we saw in the last match where both teams posted 200 score lines. It shall be a good batting day good.

Prediction

Best Bet: Durban Super Giants to win at 1.64

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.