Cricket
Paarl Royals vs Eastern Cape Sunrisers Preview: Odds, Tips and Prediction
Date: January 11 Kick Off Time: 11:00 Local Time Venue: Paarl We here at SportsBoom are about to preview the big Betway SA20 match between the Paarl Royals and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape that will take place at Paarl on Saturday 11 January, the third match of this year’s edition of the South African-based T20 competition. Our preview will include Paarl Royals v Sunrisers Eastern Cape predictions about what might happen, including providing you with cricket betting tips for the match. Remember to check out all the latest cricket betting offers to see what you can claim.
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Keep reading and in addition to some good-value betting tips, we’ll also talk you through
some cricket betting strategies that are not only relevant to this particular game but cricket betting in general. It’s early days yet in the SA T20 for the 2025 season but every game matters and every point is valuable as last year’s winners the Sunrisers take on a Royals side that has been eliminated at the semi-final stage for each of the first two seasons.
Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
Paarl Royals: 8/11 (1.73) – 58%
Eastern Cape Sunrisers: 6/5 (2.20) – 42%
Forecast Odds – Betting available on Betway closer to event
Head-to-Head Record
Before we move onto our cricket betting insights and the bets you should think about placing at the top cricket betting sportsbooks, let’s refresh our memories as regards what happened in the first four matches they played each other.
| Date | Winner | Method of victory |
| January 19 2023 | Sunrisers | 5 wickets |
| January 24 2023 | Royals | 5 wickets |
| February 2 2024 | Sunrisers | 44 Runs |
| February 4 2024 | Sunrisers | 5 wickets |
One of the notable performances in this clash came in February 2 2024 when all-rounder Marco Jensen of the Sunrisers took 2/34 with the ball after scoring 71 off 31 with the bat, one of the all-time great performances in the competition so far.
Paarl Royals: Current Squad
- David Miller (Captain)
- Mujeeb Ur-Rahman (Afghanistan)
- Sam Hain (England)
- Joe Root (England)
- Dinesh Karthik (India)
- Dunith Wellalage
- Codi Yusuf
- Kwena Maphaka
- Eshan Malinga
- Lhuan-dre Pretorius
- Bjorn Fortuin
- Lungi Ngidi
- Mitchell Van Buuren
- Keith Dudgeon
- Nqaba Peter
- Andile Phehlukwayo
- Codi Yusuf
- Dayyaan Galiem
- Rubin Hermann
- Dewan Marais
David Miller
Miller is one of the most experienced players in white-ball cricket worldwide and seen as one of the game’s great finishers with his big hits at the death and ability to find the gaps when most needed. He’s also improving as a captain so his leadership skills and bowling changes will be key here, too.
Dinesh Karthik
Karthik can now play in overseas leagues given that he no longer plays in the IPL. The veteran keeper-batsman may be at the end of his career, but few can score as quickly or handle the pressure of tough run chases like him.
Mujeeb Ur-Rahman
The Afghan spinner has played in just about every T20 league in the world and carries on being a menace to batsmen with his subtle variations and changes of pace, meaning he’s hard to get away and takes plenty of wickets.
Eastern Cape Sunrisers: 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
Marco Jansen
The man who can do it all provides wickets with the new ball and fast runs in the lower-middle order and was an integral part of their team ion the first two seasons by offering great balance to the side.
Tristan Stubbs
Stubs has established himself in all formats for South Africa, but it was in T20s that he first made a name for himself and where he arguably feels most comfortable as a Number 3 or 4. Also an exceptional fielder.
Craig Overton
The English all-rounder is finding his best form a bit later in his career and brings real value to the side as someone who can bowl at any stage of the innings, as well as being able to deliver some big blows with the bat at 7 or 8.
Top Batsman for both teams
David Miller (Paarl Royals)
The skipper likes to bat a bit higher in this competition than he does for his country and in the IPL so expect him to come in at number four, which helps our chances of him being top batsman. Few players can equal his experience and knowledge of South African pitches so expect him to hold the innings together and be their key man with the bat.
Zak Crawley (Eastern Cape Sunrisers)
The Englishman has had a tough time of it in Test cricket recently but T20 should offer him the chance to express himself with freedom and South African flat pitches are right up his alley, so he can swing through the line. The fact he opens is another big advantage.
Predicted Line-Ups
Paarl Royals: Hain, R Hermann, Root, Miller, Marais, van Buuren, Karthik, Phehlukwayo, Wellalage, Mujeeb, Ngidi.
Eastern Cape Sunrisers: J Hermann, Crawley, Markram, Abell, Stubbs, Bedingham, Jansen, Overton, Swanepoel, Harmer, Baartman.
Suggested Bets
And now it’s time in our Paarl Royals v Eastern Cape Sunrisers preview to select three more bets that you can back at any of the reliable bookmakers for betting that that we’ve listed as ones that we’ve tried out and can certainly vouch for.
Lungi Ngidi to be Paarl Royals Top Bowler: Ngidi had a quiet year in 2024 by his standards but dismiss him at your peril. The big fast bowler will be looking forward to playing on home soil on fast, bouncy wickets that he knows well and should be good for at least a couple of wickets, which could well be enough to win this heat.
Ottneil Baartman to be Eastern Cape Sunrisers Top Bowler: Baartman has had two solid seasons in the SA T20 so far, taking 12 wickets in 2023 and 18 in 2024, which means he’s close to averaging two wickets a game, which is excellent. His consistency and ability to explore conditions could be vital in his search for more wickets.
Value Bets
Marco Jansen to be Player-of-the-match: The Sunrisers all-rounder can win any game from any position with either bat or ball and his contributions in both disciplines are just the sort that can catch the eye of the judges, so he’ll be a lively runner if Eastern Cape win the match.
A century to be scored: Last year in Paarl we witnessed a high-scoring match with the Sunrisers posting 208 first up, proof that this can be a very good wicket. A repeat of a good surface could open the door to someone scoring a century so check out the high odds at the best betting sites for cricket on that happening, as they’re likely to be pretty big.
Paarl Royals vs Eastern Cape Sunrisers: Sunrisers to win
At the Paarl Royals v Eastern Cape Sunrisers betting odds, the Sunrisers are certainly the bet. They’ve won both editions of the tournament so far, testament to their consistency, and have won three of the four matches played between these two so far. They just look better equipped in all areas and should get over the line.
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. Heroes and heroines include Paul Scholes, Chris DiMarco, Anastasia Myskina, Richard Gasquet, Nat-Sciver Brunt and Kumar Sangakarra.
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