Betway SA20 Qualifier 2 match-ups

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Paarl Royals have it all to play when they meet in tonight’s Betway SA20 Qualifier 2 at the Wanderers.

The prize for the winner is a spot in the Final at Newlands on Sunday where Pretoria Capitals lay in wait.

The Royals are fresh off a first-ever play-off victory, while Sunrisers are looking to bounce back after their defeat to the Capitals at Qualifier 1.

Quinton de Kock v Ottneil Baartman

De Kock is central to Sunrisers’ chances. When he gets runs, they generally win and being back at his favoured Bullring, the veteran opener will want to lay down an early marker.

Baartman, though, is facing his former team and will be eager to show Sunrisers what they are missing. The competition’s leading wicket-taker has been in fine form, and should he pick up De Kock early, it will go a long way to seeing Royals through to their first-ever final.

Jordan Hermann v Rubin Hermann

While this is not a traditional head-to-head, the two Hermann brothers are the fulcrum of their team’s respective batting line-ups. Jordan has been consistent with 253 runs at an average of 41.16 and strike-rate of 144.57 but he will not want nothing more than a substantial contribution at the Wanderers to send his team to a fourth consecutive final.

Rubin was quiet during the initial stages of the competition but has found some form towards the business end. He will also be eager to celebrate his Proteas call-up for the West Indies T20I series with a big performance.

Tristan Stubbs v Nqobani Mokoena

The Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain has plenty to play for. Both on a personal front after receiving a belated call-up to the Proteas T20 World Cup and trying to lead his team to their perennial final place.

Stubbs has not been at his explosive best thus far but there have been encouraging signs that he is striking the ball cleanly again.

Mokoena, meanwhile, has been a breath of fresh air at the Royals. The teenager has been bristling in with his pace troubling the batters. He has also shown that he has the golden arm of being able to get the big players out and there are few bigger than the Sunrisers skipper.

Royals opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius said: “They are a well-balanced side with a lot of very good international players, Quinnie (de Kock), Marco (Jansen), Annas (Nortje), there's a lot of guys, you can name the whole team.

“But yeah, I think when it comes on the day, it's a team that wants to win on the day. It's bat versus ball. If you play the names, then you might have a bit of trouble because there's a lot of big names in that team.

“But yeah, if we put in another performance, I'm sure we can get away with the win.”

Sunrisers assistant coach Russell Domingo stated: “So we're going to have to improve our performance from the last game, which I have no doubt we will.

“We've got some senior players and some experienced players in the team who sort of know where we can get better. It’s going to be a hell of a game!”