ABOUT THE MATCH

The 19th match of the Mzansi Super League 2019 will see Tshwane Spartans take on Paarl Rocks who will be eyeing their fourth straight win. The SuperSport Park in Centurion – the home ground of the Spartans – will be hosting this fixture on November 29.

Both the teams enter this game on the back of a win in their last match. League-leaders Paarl Rocks outplayed Nelson Mandela Bay Giants at Port Elizabeth. Put in to bat first, the Rocks scored 166/7 in their innings before bowling out the Giants for 135 to seal a comfortable 31-run victory.

Tshwane Spartans got the better of Jozi Stars in their last match at Johannesburg. The Spartans batted first and posted a respectable total of 155/6 and then wrapped up the Stars for 135 inside 19 overs to win by 20 runs.

TOSS PREDICTION

The team that wins the toss in this match is more likely to bowl first since the pitch is unlikely to change after the first half. Also, that would give them the luxury to pace their innings according to their target.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS 

SuperSport Park has generally been a high scoring venue. The average score here in the first innings in T20Is is 168. So one can expect the bat to dominate the ball in this game.

A bit of cloud cover is expected during the match but no rain has been forecast for the day. The evening should be slightly on the warmer side with temperature likely to fluctuate between 26 and 29 degrees Celsius.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Tshwane Spartans

Theunis de Bruyn, Dean Elgar, AB de Villiers, Heinrich Klaasen (c/wk), Petrus van Biljon, Roelof van der Merwe, Wiaan Mulder, Tom Curran, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamla

PROBABLE PLAYING XI OF Paarl Rocks

Henry Davids, Cameron Delport, Faf du Plessis (c), James Vince, Sibonelo Makhanya, Mangaliso Mosehle (wk), Isuru Udana, Ferisco Adams/Dwaine Pretorius, Hardus Viljoen, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi

MATCH PREVIEW

Tshwane Spartans

• Tshwane Spartans have fielded the same group of eleven in their last two matches, and since they are coming off a fairly comfortable win, they may not want to tweak their winning combination.
• Roelof van der Merwe was promoted to number three last time and he might be pushed back down the order after failing to make an impact with the bat.
• The Spartans will continue to open their batting with Theunis de Bruyn and Dean Elgar while Tom Curran will be leading the bowling attack.
• Tshwane Spartans are the only team in the tournament who are yet to lose a game.
• They have won two of the five matches they have played so far this Mzansi Super League while the rest have all ended in no results due to rain.
• The Spartans, therefore, find themselves in third place on the points table with 14 points.
• Their two wins have come against Paarl Rocks (by 8 wickets) at Paarl and against Jozi Stars (by 20 runs) last time out at Johannesburg.

Paarl Rocks

• Paarl Rocks made just the one change to their line-up in the last game against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants they dropped bowling all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius and replaced him with another all-rounder in Ferisco Adams.
• The latter had a good outing with both bat and ball, and it will be interesting to see whether the Rocks decide to give him another game or bring back Pretorius.
• Sibonelo Makhanya is being used as a pinch hitter and could be sent up the order again.
• Paarl Rocks have had a fantastic tournament so far. They are currently topping the MSL 2019 points table with four wins, a loss and a washout from six matches.
• After registering a big 86-run win in their campaign opener against Cape Town Blitz, the Rocks had to split points in their rained-out encounter against Durban Heat.
• They then suffered an eight-wicket loss to Tshwane Spartans before winning their last three matches on the bounce.
• Their previous match was against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants at Port Elizabeth where they secured a comfortable 31-run win.

PROBABLE WINNING TEAM:

Tshwane Spartans are favorites and have never lost to Paarl Rocks and they will look to maintain their immaculate record against them on Friday.

Click Here for Fantasy Picks.