Cape Town Blitz vs Durban Heat, Mzansi Super League 2018, Today Match Prediction 09 Dec 2018

ctb vs dh Match Prediction & Analysis

Match 27 of the Mzansi Super League is arguably one of the biggest mismatches in the tournament as high-flying Cape Town Blitz take on a Durban Heat side that is cut adrift at the bottom of the table. When these two met early on in the tournament, Cape Town won by three wickets, which was part of a four-match winning run that cemented them as the team to beat.

After a bit of a wobble, they are back on top form and that is very ominous for Durban. They couldn’t have got much closer to winning their last match, against Jozi Stars, but the way they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory just showed how bad things have got for them.

Nobody is expecting Durban to win this one but there are still things to look out for. Rashid Khan has come in and done well since his return from the Emirates and you get the feeling he will turn a game in Durban’s favour at some point. How he goes against the likes of Janneman Malan and Quinton de Kock could be a fascinating contest within a contest.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Cape Town Blitz Preview

Each time Cape Town have lost in the tournament so far, they have immediately followed it up with a victory. That’s exactly what they did last time out against Paarl Rocks and they will want to make it two home wins in a row. Riding on the back of de Kock’s half-century, they showed it is perfectly possible to chase down a target – even if most teams don’t seem to want to do it at the moment.

It is hard to make case for Cape Town to make any changes as things are working nicely. Ferisco Adams returned against Paarl and performed well and that was the only change. Dawid Malan is struggling for form but is unlikely to be dropped – if he were to miss out, Kyle Verreynne could earn another recall.

Cape Town Blitz Predicted Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Dawid Malan, Asif Ali, Farhaan Behardien, Andile Phelukwayo, Mohammad Nawaz, Ferisco Adams, Dale Steyn, Malusi Siboto, Nandre Burger

Durban Heat Preview

All Durban have to show for their efforts in the tournament so far are the points from a 10-run win over Tshwane Spartans and a no result against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants. It’s been a tournament to forget and they were ruled out of the running for the play-offs two matches ago.

Nevertheless, there is pride to play for and players still have a point or two to prove. You can’t get much closer to winning and eventually lose like they did against Jozi but that failure to get over the line has to weigh on the players’ minds. It might even nudge the coaching team to make some changes.

Marchant de Lange was the culprit as Jozi scored 14 runs in two balls to win and he may pay the penalty with another spell on the sidelines. Vernon Philander would be the obvious replacement and he would also strengthen the batting.

Durban Heat Predicted Playing XI:

Quinton de Kock (wk), Janneman Malan, Dawid Malan, Asif Ali, Farhaan Behardien, Andile Phelukwayo, Mohammad Nawaz, Ferisco Adams, Dale Steyn, Malusi Siboto, Nandre Burger

Weather Conditions

Newlands should provide a fast and bouncy pitch for this match. Although cloudy and cool, there has not been much rain around so there is little chance of interruptions.

Venue

Although the pitch does help pace bowlers – and Dale Steyn has excelled here – Newlands has seen plenty of runs scored throughout the MSL. The run rate at the venue throughout the MSL has been over eight. It can help spinners, which will bring Durban’s Rashid Khan right into play.

Toss: To Bowl

Teams continue to want to bat first in the latter stages of the competition. However, Cape Town have lost the toss in their last three matches and won their last match batting second, so they may be tempted to buck the trend. Durban, on the other hand, have batted first the last two times they won the toss. But do they dare back their bowlers to defend a total again? If not, they may also look to chase.