Tristan Stubbs gets ready to hit a pull shot for the Proteas Tristan Stubbs is is one of the Warriors’ dangermen ahead of their match against the Titans. Picture: Steve Bardens / AFP
The Titans are unbeaten thus far in the CSA T20 Challenge but so are their next two opponents, the Warriors on Wednesday night and the Lions on Friday.
Those two sides are two of only three teams - the other being the Western Province - that have secured bonus point victories thus far, making them very dangerous sides to go up against.
Titans coach Mandla Mashimbyi leans on the nature of T20 cricket in that any team can beat any team on the day regardless of previous results heading into fixtures. Mashimbyi also wants his side to make improvements tonight when they host the Warriors at SuperSport Park in Centurion while keeping consistent with their game plans.
GAME DAY: We're back at home at SuperSport Park. It's Titans vs Warriors in round 3 of the #T20Challenge.
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“I understand that the two teams have had a good start, they’ve had bonus point wins but in T20 cricket you just have to bring it on the day and focus on what you need to do and the rest will look after itself,” Mashimbyi told Independent Newspapers.
“For us, it’s to look after the things that we feel we can improve on as a team and keep doing the good things that we have been doing. It’s just about having the confidence to execute those things.
“We’ve got a gameplan,” he added.
“Everybody is buying in on it and we just have to make sure that we come here and we execute. We want to come out with a victory, it would be good for us to win against these two teams because then we can sort of gauge where we are as a team as well.“
The Warriors have been strengthened by the availability of Proteas players Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs before the trio travels to India for the start of the IPL next weekend.
However, coach Mashimbyi’s team also has powerhouses in Aiden Markram, Tabraiz Shamsi and Lungi Ngidi available for tonight’s fixture before they leave for same tournament.
Mashimbyi hopes that the players that will stay behind to complete the T20 Challenge would have learnt a thing or two from the experience of the Proteas players who they currently have at their disposal.
“Having these guys back in the dressing room is good for the squad because guys can pick their brains,” said Mashimbyi.
“Just knowing that you have those guys in the team also really helps. Hopefully, by the time they go, the boys would have absorbed some of the information and could use it in their own game plans.” he concluded.
Tonight’s fixture will get underway at 6pm, while the Dolphins and Lions encounter gets underway at the same time at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban tonight. In the other fixture tonight, Western Province will host the North West Dragons at Newlands Stadium.
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