Cricket
MI Cape Town vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: Thursday, January 29 Kick Off Time: 13:30 local time Venue: Cape Town There are only a few matches left to play in the Group Stages, and this is one of the most important ones so it’s not one to be missed.
Rashid Khan//Getty Images
Played at Cape Town on January 29, our MI Cape Town vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape preview will look at the latest team news, head-to-head numbers, key stats and the top cricket betting tips before the game gets underway. If you wish to back our tips, you just need to go to any of our recommended list of cricket betting sites where you’ll find the betting market you’re after and can back the tip there.
Mi Cape Town have been one of the more consistent sides in the tournament with an equal number of wins and losses and are yet to win, or lose, two in a row. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, started poorly with three straight losses before bouncing back to win three on the spin.
So, these are two evenly-matched teams in action, a fact reflected by the tight MI Cape Town vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape betting odds at present.
Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
MI Cape Town: 4/5 (1.80), 55.56%
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: 6/5 (2.20), 45.45%
Forecast Odds – Betting available on Betway closer to event
Head-to-Head Record
| Date | Winner | Method of victory |
| January 16 2023 | Sunrisers | 4 wickets |
| January 18 2023 | Sunrisers | 2 wickets |
| January 16 2024 | Sunrisers | 4 runs |
| January 27 2024 | Sunrisers | 4 runs |
| January 9 2025 | Super Giants | 97 runs |
The Sunrisers are way ahead on the head-to-head record with four wins from the five they’ve played against each other.
It is, however, worth noting that MI’s sole win against the Sunrisers was earlier this season so that’s significant. And it was a huge win indeed with MI batting first and posting a strong 174/7 before dismissing the Sunrisers for just 77.
MI Cape Town: Current Squad
- Rashid Khan (Afghanistan),
- Kagiso Rabada,
- Trent Boult (New Zealand),
- Azmatullah Omarzai (Afghanistan),
- Dewald Brevis,
- Ryan Rickelton,
- George Linde,
- Nuwan Thushara (Sri Lanka),
- Connor Esterhuizen,
- Delano Potgieter,
- Rassie van der Dussen,
- Thomas Kaber,
- Chris Benjamin (England),
- Corbin Bosch,
- Colin Ingram,
- Reeza Hendricks,
- Dane Piedt,
- Tristan Luus (Rookie).
Rassie van der Dussen
The calm and composed top-order batter has taken a liking to this competition since it began and has been the model of consistency in his last few matches with scores of 43, 39 and 35 to go with an excellent 91, so you can see why his runs are so important.
Ryan Rickleton
Van der Dussen’s opening partner missed a couple of matches at the start but made up for lost time with a brilliant 89 against the Super Kings that also included a couple of stumpings in his other job as a keeper. It was a match they won mostly thanks to Rickleton’s performance, so he’s a key player, too.
Rashid Khan
The skipper and leggie is very much the heartbeat of the side. He hasn’t taken quite as many wickets as he normally does but his economy rate has been excellent, and he’s led the side with skill and knowledge.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Current Squad
- Aiden Markram
- Zak Crawley (England)
- Roelof van der Merwe (Netherlands)
- Liam Dawson (England)
- Ottneil Baartman
- Marco Jansen
- Beyers Swanepoel
- Caleb Seleka
- Tristan Stubbs
- Jordan Hermann
- Patrick Kruger
- Craig Overton (England)
- Tom Abell (England)
- Simon Harmer
- Andile Simelane
- David Bedingham
- Okuhle Cele
- Richard Gleeson
Aiden Markram
Like Rashid Khan, Markram does the lot: leads the side, bowls spin, fields brilliantly and of course, unlike Khan, also bats in the top order. His half-century against Pretoria last week was another example of a key contribution with the bat on a tough pitch.
Marco Jansen
Jansen has arguably been the Player of the Tournament so far with ten wickets, a 50 and some further contributions with the bat that have allowed the Sunrisers to get back on track. They really need him at his best if they’re to defend their title.
Liam Dawson
Dawson was another to make a big contribution to that vital win over Pretoria last week with some important lower-order runs and a fine, economical bowling spell; his experience will make a huge difference as the pressure increases.
Remember to check out Dawson and Jansen’s top bowler odds at the best betting sites for cricket each time they’re in action.
Top Batsman for both teams
Van der Dussen to be MI Cape Town Top Batsman
Van de Dussen doesn’t always score his runs very quickly but that doesn’t really matter in this betting market because it’s the amount, not the speed at which they’re scored, that matters. And he’s one of the most consistent around when it comes to accumulation of runs.
Aiden Markram to be Sunrisers Eastern Cape Top Batsman
Markram has decided to bat a little bit lower down the order this season but that hasn't stopped him from scoring plenty of runs, including scores of 82 and 68 not out. He’s very much the man to beat.
Predicted Line-Ups
Mi Cape Town: Van der Dussen, Rickleton, Hendricks, Omarzai, Brevis, Linde, Rashid, Potgieter, Bosch, Rabada, Boult.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Crawley, Bedingham, Hermann, Abell, Markram, Stubbs, Jansen, Dawson, Harmer, Gleeson, Baartman.
Suggested Bets
Time to move on to some cricket betting insights as to who can make a real impact in this game.
Remember that one of the most important cricket betting strategies is to try to bet at odds that you think are too big, rather than simply betting on what you think will happen.
It’s always a good suggestion to have accounts at several best betting sites for cricket, so you can get slightly bigger odds than what’s available as an average, which can make a big difference.
Richard Gleeson to be Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Top Bowler: Gleeson is a good example of a somewhat unfashionable bowler who isn’t the big name that some of his teammates are. That’s good news for you as it means he’s often available at bigger odds than them despite taking just as many wickets, with nine already.
Kagiso Rabada to be MI Cape Town’s Top Bowler: Things have been pretty tight among the MI Cape Town bowlers with everyone chipping in with wickets but Rabada is starting to peak as the tournament progresses and could be good for two or three wickets here, which could well be enough.
Value Bet
When playing at the best cricket betting sportsbooks, there are lots of side markets beyond the main ones like the match winner, who wins the toss and the top batsman. Here’s one to consider.
Marco Jansen to be Player of the Match: This season’s potential MVP has been at the top of his game with 131 runs including a fifty, 10 wickets with an excellent economy rate of just 6.34 and a further two catches. Another good all-round performance from him here and he’ll also be a strong contender for Player of the Match here.
Prediction: Sunrisers to Win
The Sunrisers are 4-1 ahead on the head-to-head as we know, so have found different ways to win the fixture in the past. Those memories of getting over the line could be crucial here because there's not much in it between these two teams, with both of them very capable of going on to win the whole tournament. With the Sunrisers also having greater momentum at the moment, they just about get the nod.
For fans exploring sports betting in South Africa, this is definitely one to bet on and watch.
James has been writing about cricket, football and tennis betting for the best part of 20 years for some of the biggest operators, websites and publications in the industry.
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