Easier batting at Newlands under lights, says Roelofsen after MI Cape Town suffer first SA20 loss

One of the pre-tournament favourites, MI Cape Town suffered their first loss in the SA20 on Friday, going down to Durban's Super Giants by 5 wickets at Newlands on Friday evening.

Speaking to the media after the match, wicketkeeper Grant Roelofsen, who top scored for the home side with 52 off 44 balls (4x4, 1x6), acknowledged that batting first was more difficult than it had been under lights in their victory over Paarl Royals in the tournament opener on Wednesday.

"Obviously, the wicket changed a little bit. We expected in daylight that the wicket would be a little slower, and it was the fourth innings played on that wicket as well," Roelofsen said.

"Unfortunately, we lost a few wickets in clumps, so it was quite difficult to know when to pull the trigger and be aggressive, so we tried to take it as deep as we could and then try and maximize the last couple of overs."

When asked if batting in the second innings was an easier task than setting a total during daylight, Roelofsen said that batting under lights was easier as the ball skidded on more. 

"It looks like the ball, especially against the seamers, slides on a little more when under lights. It was the fourth innings played on that wicket, so there was a little bit of turn, but obviously, they played really well and played the seamers really well, and that really put us under pressure."

MI Cape Town are back in action at Newlands on Saturday when they take on the Joburg Super Kings at 17:30.