At the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday, Faf du Plessis’ 61-ball 92 and a sharp bowling effort, highlighted by Kyle Simmonds’ three-wicket haul, enabled Joburg Super Kings to defeat Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 24 runs (February 5). The Super Kings moved up to No. 2 on the points table as a result of the victory, which enabled them to defeat the Sunrisers and secure a semifinal spot in the inaugural SA20. Chasing 161 for victory, the Sunrisers concluded with 136/9.
Adam Rossington was bowled by Maheesh Theekshana, and Jordan Hermann battled to get going before being dismissed by Gerald Coetzee, who also took the wicket of JJ Smuts, so the Sunrisers did not have a fantastic start to the chase. Temba Bavuma scored four goals, but the Sunrisers’ powerplay total was only 29/3. In addition to Markram, who later smacked his first four after a difficult start, Bavuma top-edged a sweep off Kyle Simmonds for his first six and then blasted a four off Ferreira. The Sunrisers only managed 68 in their first 10 overs and had a needed rate of over nine when Bavuma also hit a six off Romario Shepherd.
Markram struggled at the other end, scoring at less than a run per ball until he hit a four off Nandre Burger, while Bavuma reached a 33-ball fifty. After Simmonds bowled Bavuma with a low delivery that kept, the Sunrisers’ situation quickly deteriorated. In his subsequent over, the left-arm spinner sent Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen back off consecutive deliveries to end with 3-23 from his four overs. The next delivery saw Shepherd dismiss Markram by having him caught at cover point, and Theekshana then bowled James Fuller, dropping the Sunrisers to 113/8 in the 17th over. The Sunrisers needed 27 runs off the final over, so Roelof van der Merwe and Brydon Carse tried to push it across the finish line. However, there was simply too much to do, thus they fell short of the goal.
Earlier, after deciding to bat, captain du Plessis began with a boundary in the first over from Smuts before hitting a four and a six in the following over from the same bowler. As the Super Kings reached 48/0 at the conclusion of the powerplay, Reeza Hendricks joined in as the openers continued to find the net frequently. After a few uneventful overs, du Plessis finally broke through with four and two sixes off van der Merwe in the ninth over, the second of which helped him to a 31-ball fifty. The Super Kings reached 88/0 at the halfway point of their innings thanks to two additional fours from du Plessis off Carse.
The century partnership was established in the 12th over, and the Super Kings had a great foundation to launch an all-out assault thanks to Hendricks’ return to hitting the boundaries after a little hiatus. However, the Sunrisers had a chance to limit the runs when Carse took Hendricks’ wicket in the 15th over. Matthew Wade and Donavon Ferreira were promptly sent back by Aiden Markram, and Leus du Plooy was dismissed by Marco Jansen. Du Plessis, who hit a six off Jansen, was bowled over by Sisanda Magala in the following over. Romario Shepherd was also bowled over by Magala. The Sunrisers did well to recover after a 119-run opening stand, but their batting was disappointing. The Super Kings lost six wickets in the final six overs for an additional 45 runs.
