All roads lead to a sold-out Newlands for the much-anticipated Betway SA20 Season 2 final between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban’s Super Giants on Saturday.
It is a rematch of Qualifier 1 played earlier this week in Cape Town, which the Sunrisers comfortably won by 51 runs to book their second successive appearance in the grand showpiece.
The Super Giants, meanwhile, had to take the long route up to Johannesburg to face the Joburg Super Kings in Qualifier 2 at the Wanderers.
Keshav Maharaj’s team raised themselves for the occasion, defeating the Super Kings by 69 runs to secure their first-ever Betway SA20 final appearance.
The Sunrisers have the experience of winning last year’s final before a packed Wanderers Stadium and captain, Aiden Markram, believes this along with the recuperation gained this week will benefit his team on Saturday.
“We’ve had a couple of days off to recharge and rest. We also had a nice training session on Friday to get the energy back up,” said Markram.
“We’re looking forward to tomorrow, as it's going to be a fantastic day and I’m sure when we rock up we’ll be filled with plenty of energy and plenty of excitement.
“It can only help those that were involved last year and ultimately the occasion is what it is on the side. We will try to put our best foot forward and see where it takes us from a result point of view.”
Only one thing on Sauce's mind 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cRaBNWnKRu
— Sunrisers Eastern Cape (@SunrisersEC) February 9, 2024
The Super Giants, meanwhile, will be battle-hardened after their extra match and will certainly take the confidence of having bounced back at the Bullring into the showdown with the Sunrisers.
“We are excited and energetic. The guys are still buzzing from last night. It was a brilliant clinical performance for us after a bit of a little wobble along the way,” said captain Maharaj.
“For us it’s all about the execution and having clarity with regards to our gameplans and hopefully it is enough to triumph the Sunrisers tomorrow.”
One step to go 💙🤞 pic.twitter.com/RwhCJHpdG0
— Durban's Super Giants (@DurbansSG) February 9, 2024
Maharaj also believes they have learnt valuable lessons from their defeat to the Sunrisers earlier in the week and will hopefully be able to implement the changes.
“I think we need to apply ourselves and stay true to our plans. We deviated a bit from that, especially in terms of a batting point of view,” the DSG skipper said.
“We need to dust ourselves off and learn from our mistakes.”
The final is being billed as a high-octane clash between Sunrisers’ impressive seam bowling unit going head-to-head with the Super Giants’ much-vaunted batters.
The Sunrisers boast three fast bowlers atop the Betway SA20 wicket-takers leaderboard in Ottniel Baartman (16), Daniel Worrall (15) and Marco Jansen (15).
The Super Giants, meanwhile, have the explosive Heinrich Klaasen (447 runs with a strike-rate of 208.88) and Matthew Breetzke (398 with a strike-rate of 142.14) listed in the top four of the batting run-scoring charts.
The Betway SA20 Season 2 final is expected to be a huge hit on the field and in the stands which promises to be an unmissable experience.
Get ready for explosive action, entertainment, and the thrill of knockout cricket at its finest.
The Betway SA20 Final will start at 17h30 (SAST), gates open 14h30 and spectators are encouraged to get to the stadium early to avoid congestion at the turnstiles, but mostly to enjoy the pre-match activities that are inline to entertain the whole family.
Award-winning singer and song-writer, Lady Zamar, will headline the entertainment festivities. Live DJs, the party zone – hosted by Castle Lite, brass band, stilt walkers, balloon artists, glitter make-up artists, are all on the line-up on Saturday to ensure all-round entertainment for everyone.
FULL SQUADS FOR THE FINAL AT NEWLANDS
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Aiden Markram (captain), Tom Abell, Ottniel Baartman, Temba Bavuma, Liam Dawson, Sarel Erwee, Aya Gqamane, Simon Harmer, Jordan Hermann, Marco Jansen, Patrick Kruger, Dawid Malan, Adam Rossington, Caleb Seleka, Andile Simelane, Tristan Stubbs, Beyers Swanepoel, Daniel Worrall.
Durban's Super Giants: Keshav Maharaj (captain), Ashton Agar, Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Heinrich Klaasen, Wiaan Mulder, Naveen-ul-Haq Murid, Bryce Parsons, Keemo Paul, Dwaine Pretorius, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jon-Jon Smuts, Jason Smith, Prenelan Subrayen, Reece Topley.
MATCH OFFICIALS FOR THE FINAL AT NEWLANDS
Match referee: Gerrie Pienaar
Standing umpires: Stephen Harris and Babalo Gcuma
TV umpire: Arno Jacobs
Reserve umpire: Abdoellah Steenkamp