Centurion is braced for a Betway SA20 rematch between Pretoria Capitals and Durban’s Super Giants on Sunday (3.30pm).
The two sides produced a thriller when they met on Friday evening at Kingsmead with the Super Giants sneaking over the line by two runs.
But now on home soil for the first time in Season 3, the Capitals will no doubt look to give the Centurion faithful lots to cheer about.
The new Capitals opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Will Jacks certainly showed what they are capable of with an exhilarating 154-run stand and will be keen to maintain that momentum.
“I'm really happy with the performance individually, with the partnership but really disappointed with the result. We should have won this game but unfortunately it's cricket.
“We cannot say anything about it, we lost and we need to come back stronger with the same partnership which we did already and hopefully we do in the next game as well. The next match is against them as well and we need to win that one,” said Gurbaz.
The Afghanistan superstar admitted he was nervous ahead of his SA20 debut, but he quickly shrugged it off to blast 89 of 43 balls in the first encounter.
“The tournament is my first time to South Africa and I was kind of a little bit worried about the conditions and wicket and stuff like that but I find it very nice and especially I think when you start in the tournament like this, it's always nice, it's a nice feeling,” Gurbaz said.
“We just need to keep continuing the same positive momentum and hopefully we win the matches in the next game.”
Durban’s Super Giants allrounder Wiaan Mulder believes the tense victory over the Capitals showed the character of their team and will only inspire them to greater heights.
“I think a win like this is massive. If you're ever going to qualify for play-offs, or even try and get into the play-offs, you need games like this to go your way. To be honest, it's hard to say that this game should have gone our way, because I think we were out of it pretty much 42 from 42 balls,” Mulder said.
“So to win a game like this, I think sums up what this team is about. We've got so many experienced players. Having someone like Kane (Williamson), Naveen (ul-Haq), Noor (Ahmad), guys who play leagues all over the world in our team, shows the composure, I'd say, firstly, and secondly, understanding of ways to win.
“Having someone like (Chris) Woakes come back after those first two overs just shows that never-say-die attitude. And I think that's how we're going to play going forward. Also with a leader like Keshav (Maharaj), who kind of encourages you to never give up, special things can happen.”
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