It will be a do-or-die match for the Eastern Cape Iinyathi when they face the Limpopo Impalas in the Pro20 Cup at the Polokwane Cricket Ground on Friday afternoon.

They have to get the win, ideally with a bonus point.

Failure to do so will see their chances of proceeding to the Super Eight go down the drain.

The best four teams from Pool A and B proceed.

They have six points in Pool B, and to be in the running, they have to gather at least nine or 10 points in the Impalas and Warriors games next week at Buffalo Park.

The pool has the Dolphins at the top on 20 points, the Lions on 15, the Garden Route Badgers have 13, the Warriors 12, and the North West Dragons on nine.

The Iinyathi entourage settled in Polokwane on Thursday.

They did not return to KuGompo City after their heartbreaking five-run defeat to the Lions at the Wanderers in Johannesburg.

In that game, they dominated the Lions for the majority of the game but let it slip at the end.

Their stand-in captain, Nathan Roux, said they took a lot of confidence from the game, saying it underlined their ability to match any top-flight outfit in the competition.

The Impalas are in Division 2 with the Iinyathi, and it is expected that the Eastern Cape side will have the upper hand.

The Impalas have not registered a single victory so far in the competition.

In their last game against a struggling Northern Cape Heat, they could not get their fight on and lost.

Their batting lineup crumbled under pressure and that is one element the Iinyathi bowling attack will be looking to exploit.

The combination of spinners and pacers has succeeded in keeping teams to low or decent scores to chase.

But the problem has been the batting, which has not fired on all cylinders.

With the average score in Polokwane between 140-150, the top and middle order need to be on point.

In terms of head-to-head stats in the five encounters between the two sides, the Impalas lead Iinyathi 4-0, with one game a no-result.