Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated Pretoria Capitals by four wickets to win the inaugural SA20 on Sunday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, winning by four runs thanks to a 30-ball 57 from Adam Rossington, which included four fours and five sixes (February 12). Sunrisers needed 16.2 overs to attain the mark after holding the Capitals to 135 in the rearranged final.
Rossington established the tone for the chase with two fours off Wayne Parnell in the first over, and soon after Temba Bavuma was dismissed, Jordan Hermann hit three straight fours off Eathan Bosch. Rossington hit two sixes and three fours in the penultimate over of the powerplay to set up a 20-ball fifty, pushing Surisers to 76/1 after six overs, while Hermann continued to collect fours. Rossington then cleared the ropes twice in a Bosch over.
Hermann was caught off Adil Rashid for 22 to break the 67-run second wicket stand, which took 32 deliveries to complete. The Sunrisers quickly reached 103/2 after 10 overs thanks to Aiden Markram’s fours, a six off Anrich Nortje, and a boundary off Colin Ingram. Rossington’s stay was finally ended by Nortje when the batsman got a top edge while attempting a draw. The needed rate was just over 3, so there was no scoring pressure on the Sunrisers. The Capitals persisted in their fight when Ingram dismissed Markram, Neesham took out Jordan Cox, and Nortje sent Tristan Stubbs back. But in the 17th over, off Neesham, Marco Jansen put the game away with a four and a six, sparking joy in the Sunrisers camp.
Grasp how Sunrisers Eastern Cape outranked Pretoria Capitals to win the SA20 league 2023 title!
When asked to bat first earlier, the Capitals made a strong start, as Phil Salt and Kusal Mendis each scored four off Sisanda Magala, who gave up 16 in the first over. Before being bowled out by Ottniel Baartman, Mendis also hit a six off Marco Jansen. Van van Merwe bowled Salt with his first delivery, but he was also struck for four boundaries in his first over, including a hat-trick of fours from Rilee Rossouw and one from Theunis de Bruyn. The Capitals achieved 56/2 during the powerplay but fell to 68/4 after consecutive strikes from Magala and van der Merwe.
Following a few uneventful overs, the Capitals needed 14 overs to score 100 runs. James Neesham and Ingram added 35 off 42 while in consolidation mode, but skipper Markram, who finished with great figures of 1 for 17, broke up the partnership. Despite Parnell hitting a six in the same over and Neesham falling in the 17th over for a 21-ball 19, the Capitals could only get to 121. By hitting Bosch and Pretorius with consecutive deliveries, Van der Merwe increased the number of wickets he has. The Sunrisers performed a great job in the extra time to contain the Capitals, so Parnell and Rashid were the final two players to leave.
