It is not exactly a winner takes all contest when the Cape Cobras face the Hobart Hurricanes in a CLT20 Group B match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad on Sunday.
However, with both sides having lost their opening encounters, the Hurricanes being beaten by one of the tournament favourites the Kings XI Punjab, while the Cobras went down in a weather affected match to the competitions dark horses, the Northern Knights from New Zealand.
With only two sides to progress from the Group to the semi-finals, two defeats at this stage will mean almost certain elimination. Sunday’s protagonists are in a position where they are effectively playing knockout cricket from here on in, with both requiring three successive wins to give themselves a chance of making the last four.
The Cobras will hope that Sybrand Engelbrecht will arrive in time to play in the vital fixture, having been given permission to replace JP Duminy in the Cobras squad. The CLT20 technical committee has given permission for the change, following Duminy’s knee injury picked up during the recent tri-series in Zimbabwe.
Against the Knights, the South Africans fell victim to the ever improving T20 skills of Kane Williamson who scored his maiden century in the format, as the Kiwis posted their highest T20 score.
Trent Boult and Tim Southee once more proved themselves as one of the most potent new ball forces currently operating in T20 cricket, and by the time the rain arrived, the run rate was already up to 13, and the Cobras looked down if not completely out, even at that early stage of the chase.
The Hurricanes may have thought that their luck was in when fellow Aussie, Mitchell Johnson was forced to miss their game against Punjab with a rib injury.However, his replacement Thisara Perera played a crucial role in their five-wicket defeat.
The Sri Lankan who didn’t play a single IPL game in 2014, due to the four-foreigner limit, took two wickets in his three overs, and then struck a 30 ball 35 that saw his team over the line with 14 balls remaining.