Faf Du Plessis of Joburg Super Kings and players wave to the crowd as they juggle with injuries ahead of facing Sunrisers EC in the SA20 League eliminator. Sportzpics
SUPERSPORT Park will host the repeat of the 2023 SA20 second semi-final tonight, an encounter between Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) and Joburg Super Kings (JSK).
This time around, the contest will be under a different banner as the knockout stage of the tournament has undergone a slight makeover in that the tournament now has two qualifiers and an eliminator with tonight's encounter being an eliminator.
Despite the slight change in structure, the stakes remain the same as one of the two teams will be knocked out of the tournament tonight.
Being the victors two years ago, courtesy of Aiden Markram's first and and only T20 century, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape will fancy their chances tonight against Faf du Plessis’ Super Kings.
However, Du Plessis has much more important things to think about than worrying about what happened two years ago, as the Super Kings lost Donovan Ferreira due to an injury.
“I did think about it when I saw the fixture but to be honest right now I'm just trying to think of the eleven players to get on the park," Du Plessis told the media on Tuesday.
“That's the biggest concern for us at the moment but it's a great opportunity. What happened then, on that day, we got outplayed by a special knock which was a great innings from Aiden so hopefully, it's a little bit different this time around.”
Ferreira became the sixth bowling option that is ruled out this season for the Super Giants after the side lost Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams, Beuran Hendricks, Gerald Coetzee and David Wiese.
Du Plessis explained just how the injuries have affected their campaign, highlighting the balance of the team as the biggest subsequent challenge.
Ferreira's injury came after the player had smashed a match-winning 51 off 22 against Durban's Super Giants on Saturday.
“Unfortunately Donovan is also injured. So, it adds to the list of players. Not great especially in terms of balance. That's been the biggest challenge for us this season," said Du Plessis.
“Every injury makes such a big difference to the balance of the team. One injury brings two changes here and three changes there. He's been particularly good for us with the ball. Offensively and defensively, he's been a trump card for me and a golden army.
“So, we're going to miss his overs and especially after a knock like the other night for his confidence. We know what he has in his skillsets as a batter.
"If he was honest he would have probably said he would've liked to do a little bit more this season.
“But when you see him bat like that, then you know the capabilities that he has as a player. It's a big loss. So far, you feel the weight of every injury.“
The match will get underway at 5.30 pm at SuperSport Park in Centurion.