Gerald Coetzee is eager to face the Lions in Sunday’s final, but the Titans must first get past Western Province tonight. Photo: BackpagePix
The Titans and Western Province will get their second shot at a chance to dethrone the Lions when they clash in a winner-take-all eliminator playoff for a place in the final in Centurion tonight (6pm start).
The Titans are chasing their eighth title, but they have not been able to live up to the expectations nor back up their statement-making start to the tournament.
Western Province, on the other hand, are peaking at the right time after sneaking into the next round at the conclusion of the round-robin matches.
Their impressive 41-run win against an in-form North West Dragons on Wednesday at the Wanderers – with all-rounder George Linde starring with bat and ball – not only ensured their place in today’s eliminator, but they will now head into the contest in better rhythm than the home side.
It's a victory for the Boys In Blue!😍🔥💙 We have won by 41 runs.
— Western Province Men (@WP_Blitz) October 23, 2024
We are off to Qualifer 2 at SuperSport Park on Friday.
Dragons 125 all out (15.3). Peters (0*). Lubbe 46, Prince 25.
Simmonds 3/14, Linde 3/15, Hendricks 2/9. #WPcricket #westernprovince #WSBNewlands… pic.twitter.com/h0xAUDkMq6
The Titans beat the Lions in the first match of the tournament by a massive 117 runs.
The Joburg outfit returned the favour on Tuesday as they thumped them by seven wickets to book their spot in the final.
They will not have it easy against Province, even though they will be playing in their own backyard.
The Cape side walked away with a seven-wicket win three weeks ago when the two sides met in Centurion, and Proteas seamer Gerald Coetzee believes that if they are to make the final, they need to minimise the mistakes they have made so far in the tournament and use their home-ground advantage.
“The tournament is strong, and so are the teams, and sometimes you get outplayed by teams on the day," Coetzee told Independent Media.
“I think we are a very strong team, and we got beaten by a really strong Lions team.
“But hopefully with a good upcoming playoff, we can get a chance to play the Lions again in the final, as we are 1-1 currently in this tournament.
“I don’t think we’ll do anything different in a sense of preparation; we made some mistakes, but the Lions really played well.
SQUAD: Here are the 15 men that will assemble for our #T20Challenge clash tomorrow.
— Momentum Multiply Titans (@Titans_Cricket) October 24, 2024
Tickets available here: https://t.co/40dbJnhLkm#SkyBlues | #WhereLegendsRise pic.twitter.com/QMfDJ0xSsc
“It will be about learning from those mistakes as we go to the game against Western Province, and we will have a bit of an advantage as we will be playing at SuperSport Park, which is our home ground, and it could be to our benefit.”
Coetzee returned to action after being ruled out of the Major League Cricket (MLS) tournament with a low-grade left side strain he sustained while in the United States.
The right-arm fast bowler was then given an extended break in preparation for the upcoming season.
The North-South derby will decide the second finalist in the #T20Challenge 🤜💥🤛
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 24, 2024
Who is your money on? 👀#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/XhAhbsCzdZ
“I got injured a few months ago in the MLS, but I was given a break due to conditioning, so that I can get strong and fit. I started playing in this T20 competition, and I have really enjoyed my comeback so far.”
The 24-year-old has had a fairly quiet return to action, but his experience could come in handy as the Titans look to get back to winning ways.
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