Royals confident of staying in the hunt after slipping in playoff clash

Though they will get a second bite of the cherry today, all-rounder Dayyaan Galiem admitted the Paarl Royals stumbled under pressure in their SA20 qualifier playoff against MI Cape Town in Gqeberha on Tuesday night.

The Cape Town side secured a 39-run victory, progressing to the final of the tournament to be held at the Wanderers on Saturday.

Despite their defeat, after finishing second in the table in the league stage, the Royals were set to face the winner of Wednesday night’s eliminator between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings in another eliminator clash in Centurion on Thursday (5.30pm start).

“I think we were a touch flat coming into the game (against Cape Town). There was probably a bit of nerves and adrenaline as well,” said Galiem, who made 12 runs with the bat and took 1/28 with the ball.

“I think we could have been a bit better at the start (bowling first) and perhaps the last two overs we travelled a bit as well.

“So I think those are probably the two areas where the guys will be looking at (to improve on ahead of today’s match).”

Galiem, however, said the Royals still believed they could lift the trophy by winning today and again on Saturday.

“There’s nothing too negative from our side,” he said.

“We’ve played good cricket over the last few weeks, so we’re pretty confident and pretty happy with where we are. The team is still in a good space.”

Team effort

Meanwhile, MI Cape Town fast bowler Kagiso Rabada said their team had gelled more as a group this season.

After finishing bottom of the table the last two years, they ended the league stage well clear at the top of the standings, and avoided a second playoff by beating the Royals in the qualifier.

“We’ve always had the players, but now I think we got together, and the senior group had a lot to do with it in terms of pulling everyone together,” said Rabada, who took 2/18 to lead the Cape Town attack against the Royals.

“There’s also a familiarity between the players, and as you can see, the South African players are backing each other.

“We’ve been playing two overseas (players) in quite a few games, so you can see the local players are stepping up, and everyone who is on the bench is also looking to make an impact.

“They can come in at any time and everyone is ready to play, so that hunger is there. It’s always been there but we’ve got together more as a team to put in those crucial performances at crucial times, and I think that’s what’s getting us over the line.”