Will Pretoria be able to lift the maiden title for the "Capitals"?

image-lcooo34uWayne Parnell will lead Pretoria Capitals [Source: Twitter]

The SA20 is just a day away, and we are here with an analytical dive into the fifth team of the tournament- Pretoria Capitals. It is the sister franchise of one of the underperforming franchises in the Indian Premier League - Delhi Capitals. 

Does Pretoria have the firepower in them to do better than the Capitals of India? Let's analyse and find out. 


Dissecting the squad

Batters: Rilee Rossouw (Top order batter), Phil Salt (Wicketkeeper and top order batter), Cameron Delport (Top order batter), Kusal Mendis (Wicketkeeper and Opener), Marco Marais (Middle order power hitter), Theunis De Bruyn (Middle order batter), William Jacks (Middle order batter and Off-break bowler).

All-rounders: Wayne Parnell (Medium pace bowler and lower order batter), Jimmy Neesham (Medium pace bowler and lower order power hitter), Shane Dadswell (Lower order power hitter and Medium pace bowler).

Pacers: Anrich Nortje (Fast), Migael Pretorius (Medium Fast), Daryn Dupavillon (Fast), Eathan Bosch (Fast), Josh Little (Medium Fast).

Spinners: Adil Rashid (Leg-break), Senuran Muthusamy (Left arm orthodox), Shaun Von Berg (Leg break).


Strengths

1.Explosive top-order: With the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt, Cameron Delport and Kusal Mendis at the top order. The Capitals look settled for getting explosive starts with the bat in most matches. 

2. Good amalgamation of all-rounders: The presence of Wayne Parnell, Jimmy Neesham, and Shane Dadswell makes an excellent all-round unit for the Pretoria Capitals. 


Weakness

Absence of wicket taking bowlers in the middle overs: Pretoria Capitals have Adil Rashid to bowl for them in the middle overs. But we have seen that he is a containing bowler rather than a wicket-taker. But the Capitals lack an operator who can take advantage of the pressure applied by Rashid and pick up wickets. 


X-Factor

Daryn Dupavillon: Daryn Dupavillon is a great pace bowler to have in the ranks. He has the pace and also the variety. In most of the matches, he might turn out to be the X-Factor for Pretoria Capitals, picking up some crucial wickets. 


Pretoria Capitals Probable Playing XI

  1.  Kusal Mendis ✈️
  2. Cameron Delport
  3. Rilee Rossouw
  4. Will Jacks ✈️
  5. Theunis de Bruyn
  6. Jimmy Neesham ✈️
  7. Wayne Parnell (C)
  8. Adil Rashid ✈️
  9. Anrich Nortje
  10. Daryn Dupavillon
  11. Senuran Muthusamy

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