Defending SA20 champions MI Cape Town hold belief in a SA20 playoff spot despite three big defeats in their opening four matches. MI Cape Town have had a horrid start to the defence of their SA2o campaign. Ryan Rickelton, the all-time leading run scorer in the tournament’s history, has, as usual, been in tremendous form for the Cape Town side, but his side is yet to register a victory.
MI boast a star-studded side which includes Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch, Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, George Linde, and captained by Rashid Khan — all players who have represented their national teams in the past year. Rickelton is top of the run-scoring charts again this year, with 199 runs in four knocks — although the bulk of those came in one innings when he slapped 113 runs off 63 deliveries in the opening match of the tournament against Durban’s Super Giants, a match they lost by 15 runs. Despite the awful start, MI Cape Town remain hopeful of making the knockouts and defending their title.
“There’s still a long competition ahead,” Bosch said after their seven-wicket loss to Paarl at Newlands on Sunday, in which MI Cape Town were bowled out for 88. “There’s still five games and five games for us to win. “We’re disappointed, but I do think we have the experience and magnificent players in our squad to turn this around.
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Their provincial neighbours, Paarl Royals, have, meanwhile, come back from a humiliating opening game defeat – where they were bowled out for a tournament low score of 47 – to now occupy second place. They’ve won three matches on the trot since. This includes two consecutive victories over MI Cape Town. “The reality is everyone thinks we’re underdogs,” Paarl Royals captain David Miller said after their seven-wicket victory over their neighbours on Sunday.
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