The ITEC Knights will want to tune in mentally for this afternoon’s CSA T20 Challenge semi-final against the Northern Cape Heat in Bloemfontein.

The Knights have already secured promotion back up to Division 1, but they want to earn some silverware for their efforts.

This comes especially after losing in the respective finals of the One-Day Cup as well as the 4-Day series.

The Knights captain, Aubrey Swanepoel, who previously played for the Heat, told OFM Sport that it will be a good and competitive semi-final.

“Everybody is in a good space and they want to make sure that we end the season on a high,” said Swanepoel.

“To win a title will be the first prize that we're looking to achieve. On Thursday it's just about making sure that we remain calm and ready for what will lie ahead.

“Northern Cape will come with their plans to out-fox us. They are a good unit and they've shown us in 4-day cricket that they can play any format really well.”

Play at the Mangaung Oval is scheduled to start at 13:00 but it has been raining in Bloemfontein and more has been predicted, and this could be a telling factor. If no play is possible the Knights should go through to the final by virtue of finishing higher on the log.

On Wednesday the Limpopo Impalas remained unbeaten and secured a home final after beating the Eastern Cape Iinyathi by 17-runs in the first semi-final in Polokwane.

The Impalas had a bat first and scored 159/8 in their allotted 20-overs with the captain Ruan Haasbroek top-scoring with 55 runs, while Louren Steenkamp scored 33.

In reply, the Iinyathi could not string partnerships together after at one point looking like they could chase down the target with relative ease. Ultimately, they were restricted to 142/6 in their 20-overs.

The final is scheduled to be played on Sunday in Polokwane.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport