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Five SA20 Season 5 Fixtures You Cannot Afford to Miss
Thirty-four matches, six grounds, five weeks. Five of them matter more than the rest: the opener, a heavyweight clash, a double-header day, the last league game and the final.
By Saleem Sial · 4 Nov 2026
SA20 Season 5 runs from 17 January to 21 February 2027, with 30 league games and four playoff games across six grounds. Every team plays 10 league games, five at home and five away, and the top four reach the playoffs. Most of the 34 fixtures will matter to someone. Five of them matter to everyone, because they carry the season's story: a final played again, a clash of the two strongest squads, a day with two games in two cities, the last chance to reach the playoffs, and the final itself.
The five below are picked for stakes, not noise. Dates and grounds are from the verified fixture list, and start times are in South Africa time (SAST). Each one links to its match page, with the scorecard and full timings, and the Full schedule has the other 29.
Key facts
| Season | 17 January to 21 February 2027 |
|---|---|
| Matches | 34: 30 league games and 4 playoff games |
| Opener | Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Pretoria Capitals, St George's Park, 17 January, 15:30 SAST |
| Final | Newlands, Cape Town, 21 February, 15:30 SAST |
| Double-headers | 23 January, 30 January, 6 February, 13 February |
17 January: the final, played again
Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Pretoria Capitals, match 1 opens the season at St George's Park in Gqeberha at 15:30 SAST, and it is a repeat of the Season 4 final. Sunrisers Eastern Cape are the defending champions with three titles, in 2023, 2024 and 2026. Pretoria Capitals have finished runners-up twice in four seasons and start the new season with the same opponent who beat them last time. There is no better way to open a season than with the team that won it against the team that wants it back.
20 January: MI Cape Town vs Joburg Super Kings at Newlands
MI Cape Town vs Joburg Super Kings, match 4 is the first heavyweight clash of the season, at Newlands in Cape Town at 17:30 SAST. MI Cape Town are the 2025 champions, playing their first home game of the season. Joburg Super Kings are the team that spent the biggest at the auction, with Jason Rowles and Faf du Plessis in their colours. By 20 January both teams will have played once, so this is the first real measure of the two squads most people expect to reach the playoffs.
23 January: the first double-header, two cities in one day
Saturday 23 January is the first of four double-header days, and it shows what the SA20 schedule asks of its fans. Durban's Super Giants host Pretoria Capitals at Kingsmead in Durban at 13:00 SAST, and then Joburg Super Kings host Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the Wanderers in Johannesburg at 17:30 SAST. Two games, two cities, one day. The other double-headers fall on 30 January, 6 February and 13 February, and each one puts two grounds on the same day.
14 February: the last league game decides who goes through
MI Cape Town vs Pretoria Capitals, match 30 is the last league game of the season, at Newlands at 15:30 SAST. By then every team will have played nine games, and the top four will be nearly settled, but rarely fully settled. The last league game is the last chance to climb into fourth place or to hold it, and it comes a week before the final at the same ground. If the table is tight, this is the game that decides it.
21 February: the final at Newlands
The final is at Newlands in Cape Town on 21 February at 15:30 SAST, for the second year running and the third time since the league began. Newlands hosted the first ball of the league, a sold-out game on 10 January 2023, and it now hosts the biggest game of Season 5. Before that, Qualifier 1 is at Boland Park in Paarl on 16 February, the first playoff at that ground, and the eliminator and Qualifier 2 are at the Wanderers on 17 and 19 February. The road to the final runs through Paarl and Johannesburg, and it ends in Cape Town. Match timings has every start time in SAST, PKT, IST and GMT.
FAQs
When does SA20 Season 5 start?
Season 5 starts on 17 January 2027 with Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Pretoria Capitals at St George's Park in Gqeberha.
Where is the SA20 Season 5 final?
The final is at Newlands in Cape Town on 21 February 2027 at 15:30 SAST.
Which days have two SA20 games?
The four Saturday double-headers are 23 January, 30 January, 6 February and 13 February.
How many league games does each team play?
Each team plays 10 league games, five at home and five away, and the top four reach the playoffs.
Source: the verified Season 5 fixture list on this site's schedule page.