NEW DELHI: South African cricket legend and league ambassador Allan Donald believes MI Cape Town are the favourites to lift the SA20 trophy but warns that two-time defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape have peaked at the perfect time to challenge them in Saturday’s final at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
“You’d have to say going on pure and utter form that MI Cape Town would probably pip as the favourites to take the trophy,” Donald said in reply to the query from TimesofIndia.com during an online interaction. “But, but and this is a big but, the boys from the Eastern Cape, they have just come charging at the very, very right time. They just look like a team now that has just found utter belief. It’s got the making of an unbelievable final.”
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Sunrisers Eastern Cape stormed into their third successive SA20 final with a commanding eight-wicket victory over PAARL ROSS. Having already won two consecutive titles, they are now eyeing an unprecedented hat-trick. Despite MI Cape Town’s dominant run, Donald believes Sunrisers’ experience in high-pressure situations makes them a formidable opponent.
“You know, you can almost see it. It’s going to go down to the bare minimum,” he said. “The absolute clinical manner that MI Cape Town have gone about their cricket is just… you’d have to say they deserve to be up there as finalists and maybe they are favourites to win it. But yeah, I think the boys in orange [Sunrisers] will have something else to say.”
Donald credited Sunrisers coach Adrian Birrell for his ability to prepare the team mentally for big games. “I don’t think Sunrisers fear it [playing MI Cape Town in the final] at all. They’ve played in two finals before, had difficult moments, and dealt with them. Adrian Birrell is a bit of a mentalist – he works very, very cleverly with the mind. He knows there’s so much skill in that change room, and it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it and keeping people calm.”
He added that MI Cape Town will feel the pressure of being labeled favourites. “The only thing that can stop Sunrisers is a dodgy wicket, which I don’t think will be the case. I think Wanderers will be a great pitch – pace and bounce. As much as I’ve said that MI Cape Town are the favourites, the pressure will be all on them because this team in orange will not see it that way. They will come out swinging. The last two wins for them have been so clinical, and they finished those teams in every aspect of T20 pressures. They stood up top. So I just think they’re a machine that’s going to be hard to stop. I think the boys in blue [MI Cape Town] will have to play out of their boots.”
Donald also highlighted standout young South African players from the tournament, naming Rubin Hermann, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and Jordan Hermann as promising talents. “Rubin Hermann has done superbly for Paarl Royals, and his brother Jordan flourished when elevated in the batting order. Bjorn Fortuin, the left-arm spinner, has been an unsung hero for Paarl Royals, delivering crucial performances in tough overs.”
With both teams in prime form, the SA20 final promises an intense battle between MI Cape Town’s consistency and Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s championship pedigree.
