Rashid Khan-led MI Cape Town are current holders of SA20
Pretoria Capitals are batting first
Playing XIs and toss updates below
Pretoria Capitals secured their first victory of the SA20 2025-26 season as they dismantled the defending champions MI Cape Town by a massive 85 runs at the Newlands Stadium.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Pretoria Capitals made their intentions clear from the outset.
While the top order provided a solid foundation, it was Sherfane Rutherford who stole the show.
Rutherford unleashed a brutal assault on the MI Cape Town bowling attack, powering the Capitals to a formidable 220/5 in their 20 over.
His explosive hitting dismantled the rhythm of seasoned veterans like Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada, turning a competitive total into a mountain for the hosts to climb.
Chasing 221, the MI Cape Town never got going. The Capitals' bowling unit, led by captain Keshav Maharaj and the pace of Lungi Ngidi, maintained relentless pressure from the first ball. Despite the batting pedigree of stars like Nicholas Pooran and Ryan Rickelton, wickets fell at regular intervals.
The Capitals' discipline in the field complemented their clinical bowling, as they bundled out the defending champions for just 135 in the 15th over.
The 85-run margin of victory not only opened the Capitals' account for the season but also significantly boosted their net run rate.
MI Cape Town Vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20: Toss
Pretoria Capitals have won the toss and have opted to bat
MI Cape Town Vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20: Playing XIs
MI Cape Town (Playing XI): Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton(w), Reeza Hendricks, Jason Smith, Nicholas Pooran, Dwaine Pretorius, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan(c), Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult
Pretoria Capitals (Playing XI): Will Smeed, Bryce Parsons, Shai Hope(w), Dewald Brevis, Connor Esterhuizen, Sherfane Rutherford, Wihan Lubbe, Keshav Maharaj(c), Lizaad Williams, Tymal Mills, Lungi Ngidi.
MI Cape Town Vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20: Captain Speak
Rashid Khan: To be honest, I wanted to bowl first as well and we got what we wanted. But no, I'll leave it at that. Well, you know, in some areas where we need to improve, a couple of things, you know, especially with the bowling, I feel like, you know, you are a little bit there in the air, but I feel like the consistency you remain on this wicket gives you good results. So, I feel like with the field, we can be very much better than how we were that day. But overall, we had a great game, but it's just about the result didn't go our way. And I feel like, yeah, we are pretty much ready for today's and hopefully we recover all those areas we have done the mistakes in the last game we've had here. Well, it doesn't look to me that high scoring game, but it looks to me 180, 190 wicket, and I feel like the bowling unit we have, we will try our best, you know, to make it lesser, 15, 20 runs. So, yeah, but still, you don't know, let's see 200, you know, someone clicks. It's pretty hard to stop him on a good wicket as well, but we will play a good game of cricket and we look forward to it. We have one change, Karim Janat is out and Kagiso Rabada is in. Yeah, it is, we're all excited and I'm so happy that he's back on playing 11 and looking forward to him.
Keshav Maharaj: Probably we're going to bat first. It looks a good wicket and hopefully some runs on the board and, you know, try to defend against a good MI Cape Town side. Not much. We're just trying to focus on ourselves for now. Focus on processes. Obviously, we had really two games that didn't go our way, but there's a lot of positives that we can build so hopefully put our best foot forward today from a batting perspective and, you know, get the result we need. Yeah, I just think for all facets of the game, just to take that responsibility and take it the extra step whenever you feel like you need to do something. Maybe think of the person behind you and just really own your role. Well, the good thing is it's a new year coming up, so, you know, that's the best part. But I think we have good discussions. The guys are buzzing and, you know, want to get on the board with the first win, but it's the process behind everything and that's what we're going to focus on for this game. Just one change. Lizaad Williams comes in for Cody Yusuf.
MI Cape Town Vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20: Live Streaming
Where will the MI Cape Town vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20 2025-26 match be telecast and live streamed?
The MI Cape Town vs Pretoria Capitals, SA20 2025-26 match will be live streamed on the JioHotstar app and website in India. It will be telecast on the Star Sports Network TV channels in the country.
