NMBG vs TWS Eliminator Match Prediction

NMBG vs TWS Team Previews

Nelson Mandela Bay Giants

Nelson Mandela Bay Giants were terrific leading up their last league match, but a defeat to Paarl Rocks robbed them of a direct entry to the finale. At the conclusion of the round-robin stage, the Bay Giants finished second at the ladder with 27 points to their name. They won six matches from ten, same as the Rocks, and were separated from the first place by only net run-rate.

Batting second on a decent wicket of Boland Park, Nelson Mandela Bay Giants would have fancied chasing a total of 169 on most days. However, they found it so hard against the Rocks that they were restricted for 156, 12 runs short of Paarl Rocks' total. Barring Heino Kuhn, who scored 58 off 43 deliveries, none of their batsmen got going as the second highest personal score of their innings was 27 by Ben Dunk. They needed 23 runs off the final over to seal the deal, but Marais and Kuhn could score only 10 as they lost the match.

Earlier with the ball, the Bay Giants did a fantastic job to keep the Rocks to a manageable total. The Bay Giants pulled things back nicely after conceding 85 runs in the first ten overs. Imran Tahir was once against sensational as he picked up two wickets for just 14 runs in his four overs. Morris, on the other hand, was hammered for plenty as he gave away 51 runs in his four overs and failed to pick any wicket.

Tshwane Spartans

The Spartans were without a doubt the unluckiest team in the league stage as five of their ten matches were washed out due to rain. Despite that, they finished at the third spot on the points table with 23 points to their name. Their net run-rate of 0.519 was second only to that of Paarl Rocks.

While Tshwane Spartans had a terrific start to their campaign, winning most all of their completed matches in the first half, they seem to lose their way towards the end of the league stage. Before their last two matches were washed out due to rain, they faced defeat against Nelson Mandela Bay Giants and Cape Town Blitz in back to back matches.

Ironically, their last completed match was against the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants, which is the team they are going to face in the qualifier. The Spartans failed to defend a reasonably good total of 188 as their fielders dropped Ben Dunk four times, who went onto win the match for the Giants with his 99-run knock.