Combined Paarl Royals and Durban Super Giants playing 11 for SA20 2024 ft. Heinrich Klaasen, Jos Buttler
The Paarl Royals will take on the Durban Super Giants (DSG) in the 19th game of the SA20 2024 at Boland Park, Paarl on Friday, January 26. Both teams are coming on the back of impressive wins and have momentum in their favor.
This is a top-of-the-table clash with both teams almost certainly making it to the semifinals of the SA20 2024 season. Royals have lost just one game so far this season, while the Super Giants have lost a couple, keeping the two teams at 22 and 18 points respectively.
With several world-class players on both teams, it is expected to be yet another incredible encounter. The two teams haven't played each other so far, adding to the uncertainty factor of the highly-anticipated clash.
On that note, let's take a look at how the strongest possible combined XI of the two SA20 teams look like:
Top order: Quinton de Kock (wk), Jos Buttler, Wihan Lubbe
Quinton de Kock and Jos Buttler's explosive batting coupled with the left-hand right-hand combination makes it an incredible pairing at the top of the order. De Kock hasn't had the best of tournaments so far, but his quality cannot be overlooked.
Buttler is the second-highest run-scorer in SA20 2024, with 245 runs from six games for the Royals. Wihan Lubbe has shown that he can do a job at No.3 and can be the batter around whom the explosive middle order expresses itself.
Middle order: Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Wiaan Mulder
Arguably among the best T20 batters in the game, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller need no introduction and can form the engine room of the middle order The likes of Marcus Stoinis and Wiaan Mulder can do the finishing job after the platform set by the veteran South African duo.
Stoinis and Mulder can also contribute with the ball and have shown that they have a knack for taking wickets. The Australian all-rounder is fresh off a match-winning spell of 3/18 against MI Cape Town.
Bowlers: Bjorn Fortuin, Lungi Ngidi, Noor Ahmad, Reece Topley
Lungi Ngidi continues to be the highest wicket-taker in the SA20 2024 season, with 11 scalps from six games. He can be used as a strike bowler across phases, with England left-arm pacer Reece Topley playing the role of a new-ball specialist.
Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin has been impressive so far and has been hard to put away, especially when there's enough grip in the surface. Young Afghan sensation Noor Ahmad brings variety to the bowling attack with his wrist spin and can run through a batting line-up on his given day.