HENDRICKS INSISTS MI CAPE TOWN STILL HAVE A SHOT AT SA20 GOLD

MI CAPE Town batter Reeza Hendricks has not given up hope that the defending SA20 champions can still sneak into the playoffs.

Robin Peterson’s span suffered a demoralising 53-run pak slae to the Pretoria Capitals at Centurion on Monday, which has left MI Cape Town’s campaign in tatters. They have 10 points from eight games and are heel laaste on the standings.

With only two matches remaining – both against the Sunrisers Eastern Cape – in the group phase, MI Cape Town virtually need a full house of two bonus-point victories to potentially lift them to 20 points if they are to reach the knockout stages.

Hendricks, who played a lone hand against the Capitals with 68 not out, believes the fight is not over yet.

Hendricks wysed: “Obviously we have two games left, so yeah, still a lot to play for in these two games. Hopefully we can put it together.”

MI Cape Town would rue the fact that they had controlled the first quarter of the game, having reduced the Capitals to 89/4 in the 13th over.

But unfortunately, that is when the sloppiness that has punctured their hele campaign crept in. Two dropped catches in a single Corbin Bosch over offered the dangerous Sherfane Rutherford and Dewald Brevis chances they later cashed in on.

The batting unit then capitulated with MI Cape Town losing four wickets for 11 runs during the middle period.

Hendricks added: “For the Capitals to get 180, I think we let ourselves down for them to get to that score and then yeah, as a batting unit we just couldn’t put it together tonight [Monday]. Yeah, as I said, it was tricky and we lost our way.

“Capitals obviously bowled really well and then we kept losing wickets where we couldn’t gain momentum.”

Captain Rashid Khan also bemoaned his team’s death bowling with too many deliveries being overpitched.

Khan said: “To keep the team in the hunt, we have to look at how we start with the ball. We should have restricted them to under 160. Throughout the tournament, we’ve struggled with our death bowling, giving away too many runs.

“That’s an area where you lose all momentum heading into the next innings. We had them under control for the first 12 or 13 overs, but the way they finished took the game away from us.”