Match: MI Cape Town vs Paarl Royals, (MICT vs PR, Match 1, SA20 2022/23)
Date: January 10, 2022 – 9 PM IST
Venue: Newlands, Cape Town
The much anticipated Twenty20 tournament from South Africa – SA20 is all set to kick off from January 10. Six teams will compete in a double round-robin format with top four sides heading to semifinals. A total of 34 matches will be played in the tournament with the final taking place on February 11.
The league has garnered good attraction from all over the world, largely because of the six franchises’ association with the Indian Premier League.
All six teams namely Durban Super Giants, Johannesburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, Pretoria Capitals, Paarl Royals, and Sunrisers Eastern Cape – are owned by their respective parent franchises. The league has attracted a pool of top overseas players and could go on to become the second biggest league in the world.
The inaugural edition of the SA20 will get underway with a clash between MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.
These two teams are arguably the strongest teams on paper. MI Cape Town have the likes of Rashid Khan, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone, Dewald Brevis and Rassie van der Dussen. Paarl Royals also have big T20 superstars such as Jos Buttler, David Miller, Jason Roy, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi.
MI Cape Town will be led by Rashid Khan while Paarl Royals have handed the reins to David Miller. Expect a fierce battle on Tuesday evening as both sides look to get their campaign off to a winning start.
Pitch Report and Weather Forecast for MICT vs PR, Match 1, SA20 2022/23
Newlands in Cape Town generally offers pitches with help for bowlers and batters both. The venue has hosted 62 matches across international and domestic cricket, with the average first innings score of 151. Only four times the team batting first has scored over 190 with the highest of 196/4.
The weather forecast suggests Cape Town should be all clear on Tuesday evening with no threat of rain. The temperature will be around 18°C.
MI Cape Town – Expected XI and Team News
MI Cape Town have signed Jofra Archer as wildcard and will play two games for them. If Liam Livingstone is still not fully fit, Odean Smith will slot into the playing XI. Ryan Rickelton, Rassie van der Dussen and Dewald Brevis are likely to form the top order.
Probable XI – Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Dewald Brevis, Grant Roelofsen, Sam Curran, Odean Smith, George Linde, Duan Jansen, Rashid Khan (c), Kagiso Rabada, Jofra Archer
Paarl Royals – Expected XI and Team News
Paarl Royals have a destructive batting unit comprising Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Miller, Dane Vilas and Corbin Bosch. West Indian pacer Obed McCoy was injured ahead of the tournament, which opens the door for Ramon Simmons. They have Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi and Bjorn Fortuin in the bowling unit.
Probable XI – Jos Buttler, Jason Roy, Wihan Lubbe, David Miller (capt), Dane Vilas (wk), Corbin Bosch, Andile Phehlukwayo, Ramon Simmons, Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi
Best Captaincy Picks for the MICT vs PR match
Jos Buttler: Wicketkeeper Batter, Paarl Royals
Jos Buttler is one of the best batters in white-ball cricket with a stellar record in T20 cricket. Since moving to the top of the order, he has amassed over 4600 runs at an average of nearly 45 while striking at 150. Buttler has six hundreds and 60 fifties in the format.
Rashid Khan: Bowler, MI Cape Town
The Afghanistan leg-spinner is the best in the business and should do well here. Rashid has 492 wickets to his name in the shorter format at an excellent economy of 6.37. He has picked four or more wickets on 13 occasions.
David Miller: Batter, MI Cape Town
David Miller has been in terrific form in T20 cricket over the last year or so. The destructive left-hander has scored 8953 runs in T20 cricket at an average of 37 and strike rate of 139. Miller has hammered four hundreds and 43 fifties in this format.
Top Differential Picks
Rassie van der Dussen: Batter, MI Cape Town
Rassie van der Dussen is one of the secure batters in this format. He has scored over 4200 runs from 141 T20 innings at an average of 37 and strike rate of 129. He has three hundreds and 29 fifties, and he’s only picked by 18% fantasy teams.
Lungi Ngidi: Bowler, Paarl Royals
Lungi Ngidi will be Paarl Royals’ lead pacer and death overs specialist, giving him plenty of opportunities for wickets. He has 139 wickets from 98 T20s at a strike rate of 13.6. Picked by 27% of the MPL teams, Ngidi can be a good differential.
MPL Fantasy XI
Where and what time to watch the match live in India
Viacom18 has bagged the rights of South Africa’s SA20 League broadcast in India. You can watch the MI Cape Town vs Paarl Royals match on Sports18 at 9 PM on Tuesday. You can also catch the action live on online streaming platform Jio Cinema.
Note: The players recommended here need not be a part of the Playing 11 on game day. Users are advised to do their own research also and follow official sources and create their teams.
