Going into the second edition of the SA20, it is safe to say that the Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) are the dark horses of the tournament.
Last season, the Durban-based team peaked a little too late, leading to their early exit from the tournament.
Since then, some of their players have gone on to set the T20 format alight, with middle-order batter Heinrich Klaasen undoubtedly being the pick of the batters in the world in the shortest format.
Moreover, with the duo of Quinton de Kock and Kyle Mayers at the top of the order, there will be no team that will take the Giants lightly this season, more so after the addition of T20 star and former West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran to their camp this season.
More than anything, DSG captain Keshav Maharaj is more concerned with the rain staying away as they lost a whole game due to inclement weather last season, while a few more games were also affected negatively by becoming truncated affairs.
“The fans really came in numbers despite some of the moments of rain, they were still there in the rain waiting for a game,” said Maharaj, at the SA20 captains’ day in Camps Bay, Cape Town, on Monday.
“(The highlight was) being able to see the crowds back, especially from a Durban point of view. It’s been a while since we’ve experienced that,” Maharaj said.
“The atmosphere at the stadiums was electric, there was a lot of fun and buzz at the ground.
Hopefully they build on that this year and it’s even more electric at the grounds,” Maharaj said.
After finishing second from the bottom in the inaugural season, the Giants will be looking to progress to the knockout stage and beyond this season, and looking at the squad they have been able to assemble, they have all the bases covered to be able to go all the way.
Maharaj emphasised the balance of his squad, highlighting the stars that have joined the camp, and he hopes that they will light up the tournament from the word go.
“Performance is a huge thing and we obviously didn’t do particularly well last year,” he said.
“Hopefully we can build on that and progress into the knockouts and hopefully go further.
“I think we’ve got a nice bunch of guys this year, quite well balanced, some exciting stars coming along, so hopefully they can set the tournament alight from the start.”
The Giants host Mumbai Indians Cape Town (MICT) at Kingsmead Stadium on Thursday in the second game of the season, while the defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will host the Joburg Super Kings in a curtain-raiser in Gqeberha tomorrow.
IOL Sport