Potchefstroom - MI Cape Town will not waste too much energy on their defeat to Sunrisers Eastern Cape at St George's Park, and instead focus on the return match against the same opponents at Newlands on Wednesday.
MI Cape Town lost their second match of the SA20 by four wickets to Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Monday, who picked up their first win of the competition.
The visitors posted 158/8, after a top-order collapse that required all-rounder George Linde to hold the innings together with 63 off 28 balls.
The bowling unit, led by Sam Curran and Odean Smith (3/23) then tried valiantly to restrict the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, but fell short in their endeavours.
"We tried really well. I thought we had half a chance, but it was not to be our day. We were 10-20 runs short with the bat and we had a lot of dot balls," MI Cape Town bowling coach Jacob Oram said.
"We have a good squad; we are not taking things for granted and make sure we play well. In 48 hours time, we are going to face the same opposition. We need to dig up the information on where they did well and failed. We obviously need to focus on ourselves and do better the next time against these guys."
MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan echoed Oram's sentiments.
“It was a close game, we were 15-20 (runs) short. But we fought well and overall, it was a good performance, especially the way we fought back with the ball. Still a few things to think about and in the next game we will come back strong," Rashid said.
“Focus on what's coming next and everyone knows their role in the side. In the next game, we have a home game, and we will continue to give 100%.”
Linde's performance with the bat is a major positive for MI Cape Town, with the Proteas all-rounder currently striking the ball sweetly.
“It was great to see George Linde continue some good form with the bat in two games in a row. He was really keen to continue that positivity and aggression," Oram said.
MI Cape Town will host Sunrisers Eastern Cape at 1:30pm on Wednesday in their penultimate fixture at Newlands.
@ZaahierAdams