Ground staff clear water off the covers as rain delays the start of play between the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings. Picture: SA20
The second edition of South Africa’s flagship T20 competition the SA20 suffered a disappointing start when the opening game between the defending champion Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Joburg Super Kings was washed out at St George’s Park in Gqeberha on Wednesday night.
It was supposed to be a cracking start to the competition with the two sides that battled it out in last year’s semifinal going head to head again, but it was unfortunately not to be as the steady rain that fell over most of the day continued into the night.
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They thus share two points each due to the no result and will have to officially get their campaigns under way on Saturday when the Super Kings host Mumbai Indians Cape Town (MI CT) and the Sunrisers host Durban’s Super Giants (DSG).
DSG and MI CT get their SA20 under way at Kingsmead on Thursday evening (start 5:30pm) and both are targeting a strong start to the competition.
In last year’s inaugural edition the DSG and MI CT were the two sides that missed out on the knockouts after the Cape Town based team finished bottom of the log and the Durban side one place above them, so both will be eager for a better showing this time round.
DSG will however be confident after they won both their pool matches against MI CT last year, beating them by five wickets on both occasions at Newlands and Kingsmead.
DSG captain Keshav Maharaj was also pretty bullish about his team’s chances after they just missed out on the play-offs last season and believes they are a stronger unit this time round.
“I think the balance of the squad is a lot better than it was last season. We’ve gone with more specialists this year and we know that we have world-class performers in our ranks,” explained Maharaj.
“We’ve got players that have won trophies, so that experience and that winning mentality is in our squad. It’s now about us hitting our straps and making sure we are following our processes and are clear about what we want to do on the field.”
MI CT will however be eager to spoil the Durban party and pick up a good win to get themselves off to a good start and they will hope the recent acquisition of West Indian superstar Kieron Pollard, who has also taken the captaincy reigns, will give them a major boost.
Having only won three games while losing seven in last year’s edition MI CT will be targeting a much improved effort this season.
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