The Betway SA20 pool stage came to a poetic end on Sunday as the best team of the season so far, MI Cape Town clinched a thumping 95-run win over the Pretoria Capitals in front of an adoring crowd in their final game at Newlands.
The result confirmed them as the in-form team heading into the playoffs, as they finished top of the log on 35 points, seven ahead of the Paarl Royals in second, and they will battle it out in qualifier one at St George’s Park in Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) on Tuesday.
The winner of that match will progress straight to the final set for DP World Wanderers on Saturday, while the loser will have a second bite of the cherry in the second qualifier at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.
The eliminator will then be battled out by the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who finished third on the log on 24 points, and the Joburg Super Kings, fourth on 19, also at SuperSport Park on Wednesday. The Capitals (14) and Durban’s Super Giants (12) prop up the table and miss out on the playoffs.
HERE ARE THE TOP MOMENTS FROM WEEK FOUR OF THE SA20:
Outstanding team: MI CT proved they will be the team to beat in the playoffs after they picked up three impressive wins in the final week of pool action. It took their tally to seven wins, two losses and one no result in their 10 pool games, while two additional bonus point wins extended their brilliant tally to five bonus points in seven wins. They also looked ominous with the bat, racing to 110/0 in chasing down the Sunrisers' paltry total, while crossing 200 in two games against the Capitals.
The Paarl Royals also finished the pool stage with seven wins (with no bonus points) and three losses, but while they were remarkably consistent over the first three weeks with six wins in seven games, they came unstuck in the past week - after starting by beating the Super Giants for their seventh win - by losing their last two pool games, against the Super Kings and Sunrisers, meaning they will have to reboot ahead of the first qualifier.
Top performance: Dewald Brevis seems to be hitting his straps at just the right time for MI CT and produced a sparkling all-round performance in their win over the Capitals in Centurion. He scored a swashbuckling 73 off just 32 balls to lead his team to a mammoth 222/3. He bowled an over and although he was hit for 12, he picked up the vital wicket of Will Smeed for 52, and then affected the run out of Ashton Turner for 22 off eight balls, with a bullet throw from the boundary.
Corbin Bosch was the other major performer with his impressive 4/19 helping MI CT skittle the Sunrisers for 107, before they claimed a thumping 10 wicket win at Newlands. Another MI CT star moment happened in their final pool match win over the Capitals in Cape Town when they pulled off a team hattrick, after George Linde had Will Smeed and Marques Ackermann caught off successive balls, followed by Kyle Verreynne being run out by Tristan Luus, as they slipped from 32/2 to 32/5, before eventually falling all out for 106.
Best match: The Paarl Royals have enjoyed some thrilling games at Boland Park this season, and it was another cracker that saw them pick up a full house of five wins at home with their six wicket win over the Super Giant’s. The visitors batted first and managed a decent 143/7 thanks largely to Marcus Stoinis, 55* off 40, and Kane Williamson, 45 off 36.
The Royals looked to be well on target for an easy win after a 91-run second wicket stand between Rubin Hermann, 59 off 51, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 43 off 29, leaving them needing 44 off 43 balls with nine wickets in hand.
However, both set batters fell in quick succession, the game ended up going to the last over, and with three needed off two balls Dayyaan Galiem smoked the penultimate ball from Wiaan Mulder over deep midwicket for six to seal a nail-biting win.
Star arrival: It was always going to be a blow to the Royals title hopes when England star Joe Root left for their ODI camp ahead of their series against India and Champions Trophy. He has been in sublime form, as the third top batter so far with 279 runs at an average of 55.80, top score of 92* and three half centuries. Despite being a part timer he has also impressed with the ball, picking up five wickets and also bowled his full complement on a couple of occasions. With him unavailable for the playoffs, the Royals wasted no time in bringing in a marquee signing, with instant star Mitchell Owen flying straight in from the Big Bash League Down Under.
The 23-year-old was unknown outside of Australia, but made a huge splash in the past season’s BBL, finishing as the top scorer in the league with 452 runs in 11 innings. But it was his player of the final heroics last week, a 39-ball century on his way to 108 off 42 balls, featuring 11 sixes and six fours, that led the Hobart Hurricanes to their first title, that truly announced him as possibly the next big T20 star. His first game for the Royals against the Sunrisers didn’t go completely to plan, scoring just seven, but he picked up two wickets to show that he is pretty handy with the ball as well, and he will hope to make his presence felt in the playoffs.
What to look out for: It is finals week and just four games remain in SA20 season three. With most of the playoff games set for the Highveld, as seen in the first two seasons, it will be interesting to see how the top two Cape sides fare away from home. Both of MI CT’s losses came on the road, but they did rack up the highest score of the pool stage of 222/3 against the Capitals in Centurion. All three of the Royals losses were also away from home, but they proved they can also play on the Highveld with them producing the biggest chase of the competition so far, hunting down 212, against the Capitals also at SuperSport Park.
The Sunrisers are arguably favourites, despite their wildly inconsistent form in this season’s competition, as they have shown impressive BMT by winning all their playoff games over the first two seasons to be crowned champs twice, while the Super Kings have not made their Highveld advantage count losing in the semis in season one and in the eliminator last year.