Nicholas Pooran will pose a big threat.
Paarl Royals (PR) will face MI Cape Town (MICT) in the 10th match of SA20 2026 in Paarl. Both teams had contrasting results in their previous games: PR won against Sunrisers Eastern Cape, while MICT lost to Pretoria Capitals.
Paarl Royals: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Asa Tribe, Rubin Hermann, Kyle Verreynne (wk), David Miller (c), Keagan Lion Cachet, Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Nqobani Mokoena, Ottneil Baartman
MI Cape Town: Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Nicholas Pooran, George Linde, Jason Smith, Dwaine Pretorius, Corbin Bosch, Rashid Khan (c), Kagiso Rabada, Trent Boult
The pacers dominated in the last game, with as many as 10 wickets falling to them. However, there’s always some assistance for spinners at this venue, and they will again come into play. During the CSA 2025/26 competition, slow bowlers (17.52) averaged better than fast bowlers (24.92) and should dominate again, as both teams have quality spinners.
The team winning the toss might elect to field first. Around 160 will be a fighting score since it will be on the slower side.
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Nicholas Pooran will be one of the biggest wickets for Paarl Royals in this game. He thrives against spinners, especially left-arm spin, and PR can’t afford to bring Bjorn Fortuin in front of him. He had a strike rate of 273.01 and a balls-per-boundary ratio of 2.33 against left-arm orthodox in 2025.
Hence, the plan should be to bring pacers as soon as he arrives at the crease because he can be vulnerable to good-length deliveries early in the innings. In the first 10 balls against pacers, Pooran had a strike rate of 112.8 and was dismissed once on such deliveries in 2025. The plan should be to bowl on the stumps or outside off-stump line, where he has a strike rate of 121.4 and 84.2, respectively, in the first 10 balls.
Even overall, Nicholas Pooran had a strike rate of 100 and was dismissed twice against 38 good-length deliveries outside the off-stump line by pacers. On the stump line, the strike rate surges to 133.33 with one dismissal in 27 balls. But the key will be to hit the areas right from the start and stifle him before he gets going.
Nicholas Pooran can be severe against spinners at times, but Paarl Royals have a couple of options to stop him. While he has been ruthless against left-arm spin, his average and strike rate of 29.22 and 126.44 against off-spinners in 2025 will bring Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Asa Tribe into play. He was dismissed nine times in 208 balls against this bowling type last year.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman has got the better of him twice in 16 balls. So, he can be one of the options to use against Pooran. He has bowled well in two games so far.
However, Paarl Royals should still start with pacers before bringing Mujeeb in. Nicholas Pooran will be a key wicket on a sluggish track since he has the capability to thwack spin better than any other batter. If PR don’t get him early, Pooran can take the game away.
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