All to play for on crunch SA20 Saturday

Everything will be on the line today when Durban’s Super Giants host Paarl Royals from 1pm at Kingsmead before Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals lock horns at the Bullring with a 5.30pm start.

There is no turning back for DSG as nothing less than a victory will keep them in contention for the one available play-off spot. A defeat will see DSG eliminated.

Super Giants coach Lance Klusener lamented his team’s batting efforts this season and hopes they can rectify this situation in the do-or-die clash.

“I think we could have been better with a bat,” Klusener said. “It’s just small mistakes here and there that kind of plagued us a little bit this season.

“We need to build those partnerships as batters and maybe get the hundreds that win you the game, so those small little things, those small little attention to details, we probably let ourselves down in this manner.”

Paarl Royals, meanwhile, have no such problems as they have already qualified for the play-offs and will be pushing for a top two spot on the standings to ensure a return to Kingsmead for Qualifier 1 at Kingsmead.

“Obviously it's getting to ‘Fergie Time’ now into the tournament. And obviously we want to end top two, because we're going to have two bites of the cherry at the latter half,” says Royals batter Rubin Hermann.

“It’s obviously within our grasp and we know we've got the characters, we've got the team. So, let's see how far we can take it and hopefully we can end top two.”

The Jukskei derby at Wanderers has its own set of permutations.

The Capitals have already qualified for the play-offs and will also be pushing for a top two spot, while a JSK victory would lock in Stephen Fleming’s team’s progression to the knockout out stages.

On the other side of the scale, MI Cape Town, will therefore be holding thumbs for a Capitals victory as a JSK win would eliminate the defending champions ahead of their final round-robin clash against Sunrisers at St George’s Park on Sunday.

“We go back to Johannesburg now, which in terms of l home ground advantage, we've got to make the most of,” JSK coach Stephen Fleming said.

“But against a side that's in form in Pretoria. So, this is a very close competition. We started off well but we've just sort of dipped off.

“So, we've got to find something from within to get back in the contest. It's not about just scraping into the semi-finals. It's about creating some rhythms and getting a bit of confidence back.”

Capitals captain Keshav Maharaj is also eager to create some momentum heading into the play-offs and hinted there may be some changes to the playing XI.

“We’ve got a big game on Saturday against JSK.

Hopefully, we can finish as high as we can in this competition. Maybe a few results and still look at top two. We just want to make sure that we're winning the game. That's the main thing,” Maharaj said.

“I think we might have to look at a bit of a change of personnel with a bit of a reshuffle of the batting order. It's gone on nine games and its similar scenarios playing out.

“It's really something that we have to have a look at. Even on the bowling front, there are areas where we can improve as a unit.”