TimesofIndia.com in Gqeberha: MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals both had flawless campaigns at home in the league stage of the SA20. Five games, five wins. Both teams came to Newlands and Boland Park, and went back without adding any points to their tally. In the SA20, where bonus points also come into play, MI Cape Town pocketed 24 points at home and 11 when on the road. For the Paarl Royals, that stood at 20 and 8. Such was their home dominance that they would have qualified for the playoffs based on their home showing alone.
But in the knockout stage, starting with the first qualifier, they would play at a neutral venue - St George's Park in Gqeberha - on Tuesday. If results from the league stage were to be used as reference, MI Cape Town hold the edge. The Rashid Khan-led side have been the best travellers this season (11 points) including a win at this very ground against Sunrisers Eastern Cape.