Paarl Royals vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20 2023, Today Match Prediction 22 January 2023

pr vs pc Match Prediction & Analysis

Paarl Royals are hosting table toppers Pretoria Capitals in the 18th match of SA20 at Boland Park, Paarl, on 22nd January 2023. After winning back to back 2 games, Pretoria Capitals are looking to register a hattrick of wins, whereas Paarl Royals are searching for a win after 2 consecutive defeats in the league.

With 2 wins and 4 defeats from the 6 matches played in the league, Paarl Royals are in the 4th place with 9 points. Pretoria Capitals are looking confident, and with 4 wins out of the 5 games played, they are in the top spot of the points table with 18 points.

Both teams have a lethal pace attack unit. Pacers like Evan Jones and Anrich Nortje are looking in good touch with new ball this season. Paarl Royals are playing in front of the home crowd, which adds an advantage to their side. They need to win this game to be in the race for playoffs. 

TEAMS PREVIEW

Paarl Royals Preview

After defeating Durban Super Giants by 10 runs, Paarl Royals have lost the last 2 games against Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town. Now to get back on a winning track again, their next hurdle is Pretoria Capitals, who lost just 1 game out of the 5 matches of the season.

In the last match against MICT, David Miller asked opponents to bat first, and Royals’ bowling unit bowled brilliantly to justify the captain’s decision. They restricted MICT to 142 runs in 20 overs, wherein Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi, and Ferisco Adams each of them took 2 wickets. 

Although the team’s bowling unit bowled superbly, the batting department failed to chase down the target against MICT’s well-balanced bowling unit. Despite Joss Buttler’s 68 runs from 58 balls, other batters couldn't manage to put up a decent batting display while chasing the target. As a result, they lost the game by 13 runs in the last over. 

The royals are looking strong on paper, but the team has not delivered to their capacity so far this season. They failed to carry the winning momentum in the last 2 matches. Paarl Royals’ batters need to score runs in front of the home crowd if they want to claim a win against table toppers on Sunday.

Key players:
Jos Buttler, Dane Vilas, Evan Jones, Bjorn Fortuin.

Paarl Royals Predicted Playing XI:

Jos Buttler (wk), Jason Roy, Wihan Lubbe, Dane Vilas, Mitchell Van Buuren, David Miller (c), Evan Jones, Ferisco Adams, Lungi Ngidi, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Pretoria Capitals Preview

Despite just 1 defeat against the Super Kings, Pretoria Capitals have won all of the matches played in a season. Their next fixture is against Paarl Royals, where they have an opportunity to register a 3rd consecutive victory of the season. 

Capitals registered a dominant victory over the Durban Super Giants in the last game after bowling out them to just 80 runs. Senuran Muthusamy’s spell of 3 wickets for 12 runs in 4 overs, along with Anrich Nortje and Wayne Parnell’s 2 wickets each, Capitals were on the top while bowling against Super Giants.

Season’s leading run scorer Will Jacks, smashed 56 runs from 25 balls only at a strike rate of 224 while chasing 81 runs. Pretoria Capitals chased down the target in the 8th over only by sparing 8 wickets in hands. This victory led them to be in first place in the points table after 5 matches.

The overall team of the Capitals looks well-balanced, and their squad has good depth in the bowling and batting unit. Batter like Phil Salt and Will Jacks are striking well with the bat, whereas the pace duo of Wayne Parnell and Anrich Nortje is working superbly for the team. 

Key players:
Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Rilee Rossouw, Anrich Nortje.

Pretoria Capitals Predicted Playing XI:

Phil Salt (wk), Will Jacks, Rilee Rossouw, Theunis de Bruyn, James Neesham, Wayne Parnell (c), Shane Dadswell, Senuran Muthusamy, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje.

Pretoria Capitals Actual Playing XI:

Rilee Rossouw, Shane Dadswell, Anrich Nortje, Theunis de Bruyn, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Wayne Parnell, Kusal Mendis, Will Jacks, James Neesham, Senuran Muthusamy

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be cloudy on the match day. The maximum and minimum temperatures will be between 30°C - 16°C. The pitch has seen high-scoring games and the 2nd lowest total of the season here.

Venue Details

Boland Park in Paarl will host this match. The ground can accommodate 10,000 people and has conducted a few domestic games and one T20I game.

Toss: To Bowl

The ground has conducted 4 SA20 matches so far this season. In those last 4 matches, the team which preferred to chase the target won 2 times, while the team defending the target won twice. But here, the general trend is winning captain decides to bowl first.