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Cape Town to atke down Paarl
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Brevis 8/1 for man of match
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Durban-Joburg clash too close
MI Cape Town v Paarl Royals
Tuesday 10 January, 15:30
TV: Live on Sky Sports
Team news
The MI Cape Town hfranchise ave somehow managed to cherry-pick the best talent. To the extent that Jofra Archer, Olly Stone, solid all-rounder George Linde and mystery spinner Waqar Salmkheil may not even make the XI.
Ryan Rickleton may pip Liam Livingstone with fitness an issue potentially for the latter, too. Dewald Brevis is the South Africa supertstar in a very strong XI.
Possible XI: Brevis, Roelofsen, Rickleton, Van der Dussen, O Smith, Curran, D Jansen, Rashid Khan, Rabada, Hendricks
The Royals are cousins of Rajasthan. Hence Jos Buttler and a strong English flavour. But we're not convinced by Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan these days. Both are on the wane.
Possible XI: Buttler, Roy, van Buuren, Miller, Vilas, Morgan, Jones, Phehlukwayo, Simmonds, Shamsi, Ngidi
Pitch report
Runs ahoy. Newlands has been flat in recent times. Seven of the last 14 first-innings have seen scores of 170 or more. Royals will need Buttler to fire for that to be busted but Cape Town are much more reliable for an overs bet on the par line.
How to play
Early days, of course, but it's slightly surprising to see Cape Town at 1.8810/11. It may be the biggest price you can get on a match bet in the whole tournament. We expect them to take the spoils with worries overs a clutch of Royals players.
Tops value
Brevis is 11/4 for top CT bat and 8/1 for man of the match. Both will be popular bets. Buttler is 15/8 and 7/1 respectively. We'd like to bet Lungi Ngidi for most Paarl wickets but he's not listed. There's no sign of an injury.
Durban Super Giants v Joburg Super Kings
Wednesday 11 January, 15:30
TV: Live on Sky Sports
Team news
Durban are a couple of batters short in their squad when playing home games at a venue which is a bowler-friendly. it's not the smartest team building seen in franchise history. There's a load resting on Quinton de Kock's shoulders.
Possible XI: De Kock, Charles, Mayers, Breetzke, Klaasen, Pretorius, Mulder, Subrayen, Maharaj, Harmer, Topley
Joburg are also light on batting. But in the context of home games at a flat Wanderers they need great bowling stock. They've got that. Reeza Handricks is their De Kock. Maheesh Theekshana is unavailable.
Possible XI; Du Plessis, Hendricks, J Malan/Ferreira, Du Plooy, Verreynne Gregory, Joseph, Siboto, Phangiso, Coetzee, Williams
Pitch report
Kingsmead is tricky for batters. The run rate in the 20 games in 2021 was just seven. This is an unders game with both batting teams looking fragile early on. The Durban weather forecast is good.
How to play
Durban are 2.245/4 with Joburg 1.768/11. Although we have Joburg making the top four and Durban missing out, this should probably be a choice affair. It's a straight shootout between bowlers and a low score could win it. We note the 13/8 for no fifty with Sportsbook.
Tops value
Big guns Faf Du Plessis and De Kock are boosted for top team bat to 23/10 and 11/4 respectively. Hendricks is chunky at 4s consideirng he should open. Matt Breetzke has appeal at 5s for Durban. Donovan Ferreira is a potential star of the tournament and could bat at No 3 for Durban.
*Read Ed Hawkins' team-by-team guide to the SAT20 here