When they faced each other on Friday night there was plenty to play for, for both sides. Just a couple of days later as the teams square-up against each other at Newlands the game is of no real consequence at all.
For the Capitals it will be their last game of SA20 2025. For MICT it will be a final game before they are confirmed as the top team of the pool stage.
The focus on Sunday will be on momentum and history. It’s always nice to bow out with a win and after a disappointing campaign a win at Newlands would give the Capitals something to hold onto as they head off into the sunset.
For the home side they come into the game undefeated in their last five games and undefeated at home all season.
If they win on Sunday, they will become just the second team to go a whole season without losing at home – the first side to do it was Paarl Royals who completed the feat earlier in the season.
Traditionally Newlands has always been a venue where you batted first if you won the toss. That’s changed in recent times with the team setting having won 13 of the last 27 and the team chasing winning 14.
In the last two games at Newlands Rashid Khan has won the toss and fielded first – expect whoever wins the toss on Sunday to field.
Newlands will be sold out again on Sunday. The crowds at this seasons SA20 have been excellent and Cape Town fans are renowned for their excellent support – the players thrive in front of them, and they will be eager to make sure that they stay undefeated at home this season
MI Cape Town v Pretoria Capitals | SA20 Game 30 | Sunday 2 February 2025 | Newlands, Cape Town | 15:30
MI Cape Town
MI Cape Town is incredibly blessed for depth. At SuperSport Park on Friday night they showed that as instead of Rassie van der Dussen and Ryan Rickelton making the big scores, it was Reeza Hendricks and Dewald Brevis who wrought havoc. MICT ended up posting a score of 222/3 – the highest innings in SA20 2025 so far.
Ryan Rickelton has been on fire at Newlands in recent weeks. It started with a double ton against Pakistan, and it has continued in SA20. He highest strike-rate of any of the tournaments leading batsmen and he is playing with sublime confidence. Expect him to score big again on Sunday.
Rashid Khan, the MICT skipper, is the ICC’s number one ranked bowler in ODI cricket. While it’s different to T20, it is still white-ball cricket, and it is a ranking that underscores his talent and ability. He is one of the best in the world and a performer who batsmen fear. He’s currently MICT’s leading wicket taker in the tournament with nine wickets in nine games at an average of 23.
Pretoria Capitals
Pretoria made some major personnel changes two games ago as they desperately sought to mix things up. It worked and they beat JSK to keep their tournament hopes alive. They stuck with their youngster for the clash against MICT on Friday and while they didn’t get the result they wanted, losing by 27 runs when chasing 223 to win is not bad going.
It looks likely that the Capitals will stick with their youngsters for the Newlands game. There’s not much to gain from affording the likes of Rilee Rossouw and Rahmanullah Gurbaz more game time – let the youngsters have another crack at the tournament’s top team, they may lose again but it will stand them in good stead for next season.
Senuran Muthusamy has been the Capitals best performing bowler with nine wickets at an average of 18.67. It hasn’t been a great season for the Pretoria side and Muthusamy (ninth best bowler) and Will Jacks (tenth best batsman) are the only Pretoria players in the top ten of either batting or bowling rankings. Their lack of players on either list is a huge clue as to why they have failed to advance to the knockout stages.
Verdict: MI Cape Town
MICT will be very aware of how, having qualified for the top two, Paarl Royals have had a sudden loss of momentum. They won’t want to follow suit. Expect MICT to go all out for the perfect home record. They should have too much for a young Capitals side.
