Paarl Royals v Sunrisers Eastern Cape – Preview

The second edition of the SA20 edition is reaching the crunching stages now. Sunrisers Eastern Cape preparing to face off with Paarl Royals on Friday 2 February at Boland Park. This is the last league match to be played in the venue. Both teams are fighting for the top two finish. So, the match is crucial as the side that finishes inside the top 2 gets two opportunities to book a place in the finals.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape has been excellent in the current campaign despite having a slow start. The reigning Champions have managed to pick at the right time. Sitting comfortably in the second position, a win here will guarantee them a top-two finish. This season the organizers have changed the play-off format to benefit the top two teams. In the semi-finals, the team finished first and will battle with second place. Meanwhile, the third finisher will battle with the team lying fourth.

But a loser in a match involving the first/second finisher will play against the winner of the match between the third /fourth match for a place in the final. Sunrisers will arrive at the clash with full momentum. In the midweek game, the Gqeberha-based side pulled one of the most astonishing performances this season against Joburg Super Kings. Having thrown the opponents to bat first, Sunrisers pacers had a terrific day with the ball. Patrick Kruger and Daniel Worrall shared three wickets apiece to bundle out Super Kings with a low total of 78 runs. Even the Proteas star batsman Marco Jansen took two wickets on the day to remember at the Wanderers Stadium.

This was the second-lowest total score in the history of the tournament. It was not the first time Sunrisers forced the team under immense pressure and produced partly total. They also bowled out Pretoria Capitals a fortnight against to an embarrassing 53, in what is recorded as the lowest total in the competition history. There is no doubt that Worrall is currently leading as the wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 scalps on his name. So, it is a side full of energy and better knowledge of small venues to get the job done. Meanwhile, Paarl Royals is the well-rested team coming to the clash. They haven’t played a match this week.

Their last match came against Durban Super Giants where they lost. The team that has been performing well throughout the season would want to finish the season on a high note. It won’t come easy to dispatch the opponents but would motivated since they have only lost the match on home soil this season. The understanding of the pitch and the vibrant crowd is what has been instrumental to the success of the Royals. All eyes will be on Jos Buttler to accelerate with the bat for the Royals. The Englishman is in fine form with 296 runs so far in the season. This is a great comeback for him considering he was out of form in the last campaign.

Plus, Lungi Ngidi has been wonderful in putting the pace with the ball. The Proteas ace is sitting on 13 wickets and is growing each game. So, the match shall provide some electric scenes.

What To Expect

The venue boundaries are small, but it has provided some small totals. A score above 170 is proven to be competitive.

Prediction

Best Bet: Sunrisers Eastern Cape to win at 2.00