TimesofIndia.com in Johannesburg:
Rashid Khan spent his free time watching Prison Break on Netflix. Ryan Rickelton, meanwhile, visited his family and friends. MI Cape Town members could afford this luxury of unwinding before the SA20 Final. They finished top of the league table and then won their qualifier, on Tuesday, for a spot in the title clash on Saturday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.
Aiden Markram and his unit could not do that. Sunrisers Eastern Cape had to take the longer – and busier – route. They won back-to-back matches, played 24 hours apart, at Centurion.
Luckily for the Sunrisers, they didn’t have to make a literal long journey during the playoffs, or for the final, which must feel like par for the course by now. SEC have had a flawless record in the playoffs across the three seasons and won the titles in both editions.
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Markram, though, believes this year has been a struggle. “This year has felt more like a struggle and a fight. Last year was relatively smooth sailing, whereas this time, we’ve had to play several must-win games. That takes a lot out of the team, but winning those crucial matches builds confidence. We’ve tried to keep our messaging and approach consistent while finding ways to improve, especially with the bat,” he said on the eve of the final.
MICT, unlike SEC, are in uncharted territory. In both the previous SA20 editions, they finished bottom of the standings and were out of title contention without a fight. This time it is different. They went the home leg without a loss and had no trouble dispatching Paarl Royals in the first qualifier at St George’s Park.
What’s changed? “We (have) had a great team, great combination, just about making sure we keep things simple. We don’t think about what happened in the past. That was the history. But for us is what we can do in future. That’s something which, as a team for us, is more important. As soon as I came, nothing much changed. I just said, ‘look, forget about the result, whatever it comes. It’s just about effort’. And I feel that’s something we have (been) focusing on,” revealed Rashid on the disappointing first two seasons.
“If there is a bad team, we have to put effort on how we can do best for the team with the ball and in the field. And that’s all I want from the team. I don’t want the result, I want effort. And as soon as you have effort in all three departments, most of the time you get the right result,” he added.
MI’s batting vs SEC’s bowling
The final has shaped up as a battle between MICT’s batting and SEC’s lethal bowling attack. Three of 10 biggest team totals this season have come off MICT, including the highest of 222/3.
Individually, MICT’s opening pair of Rassie van der Dussen (2nd with 370 runs) and Ryan Rickelton (4th with 303 runs) along with Dewald Brevis (9th with 253 runs) are among the top 10 run-getters this SA20 season.
On the bowling front, Marco Jansen is the leading wicket-taker this season (17 scalps) with four SEC bowlers featuring in the top-10 with an aggregate of 52 wickets.
“We’ll back our best options, our best bowlers, match-ups and things like that, and hopefully that can work and give us a shot at breaking that partnership,” Markram said.
“But they’ve been finding ways to score big, whether the two of them fire or not.
“So, the whole batting line-up for them is doing really well and we’ll have to do some good planning for them. And ultimately on the night, if we can execute it, then I think we give ourselves a good shot.”
Rashid, meanwhile, joked he won’t reveal his strategy for SEC would be listening in later. He went on to add that he would rather the team focus on its own skills than trying to be bogged down by what SEC bring to the table.
“For me, the best thing is to beat the opposition team with your own skills. And that’s something which I believe we have to bring into the game. Doesn’t matter whoever the opposition is, as long as you have your own skills and you believe in those skills, I think that’s where you can beat the opposition team. Yeah, they have the best side and they are the most consistent side, especially in the playoffs as well. But for us, it’s just to have that positive mindset and we make sure whatever the challenge is, we accept that and we do well in that,” said the Afghanistan spinner.
Rickelton, who scored an unbeaten 59 from 36 balls when these sides met last, would most certainly be a prized wicket. “They’ve got four incredible seamers and great spinners as well. Great spin options.
“Wherever you play in T20 cricket, you expect each team to have really good bowlers and you expect each team to have really good batters.
“If the wicket is good, which hopefully it will be, it will level the playing field a lot more. On the same side, if the wicket is not good, we obviously have some phenomenal strike bowlers as well. It will just be about managing the conditions. If the conditions are fair, we’ll definitely look to try and put them under pressure,” he spoke on their strategy.
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