Pretoria Capitals eye resurgence in home Highveld derby

The Capitals suffered their first defeat of the competition on Tuesday evening when they visited Wanderers and fell six runs short against the Joburg Super Kings.

The two sides have a quick turnaround for the reverse fixture at SuperSport Park this evening (17:30) and Kallis, speaking after the match, felt the key will be for all teams experiencing the same challenges to best utilise the hours between matches.

"Ja, that's the tough part of it, and I think the teams that deal with that the best recover the best and are the smartest with that, I think of the guys that'll come through," said Kallis.

"It is a tough schedule but it's not like we're the only team that's got that, every team's got that. So, it's certainly not an excuse we're going to use, we're going to have to be mentally strong.

"And the guys are going to have to be up for it, and obviously do their work off the field to get ready for the games, whether it be ice-baths, fitness trainers, and physios and that kind of stuff, to make sure that they're 100 percent."

The former Proteas all-rounder couldn't deny the disappointment at the manner in which they failed to achieve the target of 169, but pinned it on their failure to build any stable batting partnerships.

"We kept on losing wickets and didn't get a partnership going, maybe at times went a little bit hard but I suppose that's the nature of the game," he added.

"I think what they [Super Kings] did well is they had a batter get – what did he get? 70 or something, and it looked like it became easier once you got in. Unfortunately none of our batters got in and then it makes it tough chasing that total."

Two key focus areas for the Capitals have been identified ahead of tonight's much-anticipated derby clash.

"Just getting a partnership going with our batting and perhaps be a little bit more clinical with our death bowling."