Will Jacks scored a masterful 92 runs off 46 balls to put Pretoria Capitals on course for a 37-run win over Sunrisers Eastern Cape in their Betway SA20 match at SuperSport Park, Centurion, on Saturday afternoon.
The Sunrisers, who won the toss and chose to bowl first, were chasing 217 runs to win after the Capitals had amassed a mammoth 216 for six in 20 overs. The Sunrisers only managed 179 runs in their chase. With the victory, the Capitals top the table with two wins from two games, while the Sunrisers languish at the bottom. The Sunrisers are yet to win a match.
Jacks, who walked away with the player of the match award, opened his account with a boundary off the first delivery he faced and did not look back. The England international was in such devastating form that he forced a couple of fielding errors that resulted in boundaries. Jacks stroked eight sixes and seven fours in his sensational knock.
The 24-year-old was part of two crucial partnerships for the Capitals. The first one, worth 47 runs, was with Proteas star Rilee Rossouw (20). The second one was a 111-run match-winning partnership he shared with Theunis de Bruyn (42).
Jacks and De Bruyn recorded the first 100-run partnership of the tournament. Between them, Jacks and De Bruyn added three people to the list of fans getting a share in the Betway one-handed catch promotion. Jacks had two of his sixes caught in the stands.
Jacks and De Bruyn's 111-run third-wicket partnership was broken at the 13.3-over mark with the dismissal of De Bruyn. Jacks followed De Bruyn back to the dressing room six balls later.
Jacks, who faced 28 deliveries to bring up his half-century, fell eight runs short of his second T20 century.
Under the onslaught from Jacks, the Sunrisers bowlers had a tough outing. Sisanda Magala, who was the Sunrisers’ best bowler with two wickets for 28 runs in four overs, was one of only two bowlers to have economies below 10 runs an over. The rest were going at over 10 runs an over.
In their chase, the Sunrisers experienced the same problems as they did the last time they went up against the Capitals. As in their first match, the Sunrisers were unable to capitalise on the PowerPlay overs. In the first match, Sarel Erwee and Jordan Cox fell in the first four overs after contributing only six runs. In the return match, Erwee and Cox were dismissed in consecutive deliveries after adding only eight runs.
Things were looking promising for the Sunrisers when Aiden Markram and Jon Jon Smuts were at the crease. The pair consolidated and saw the Sunrisers through the PowerPlay without further damage. However, they were only going at a run rate of just over eight and yet needed to be going at over 11 runs an over.
Just when it looked like the Sunrisers were gathering momentum, the Capitals struck twice in eight balls and conceded only six runs in the process. The first to depart was Smuts, for a 25-ball 28 runs. He was soon followed by Markram, whose captain's knock yielded 46 runs from 29 deliveries.
After 10 overs, the Sunrisers needed 130 runs from 60 deliveries, and all eyes were on SA20's most expensive player, Tristan Stubbs. The 9.2 million-rand man was unable to dig his side out of the hole they found themselves in. Stubbs only managed 12 runs from 10 deliveries. The 22-year-old lost his wicket trying to smash Adil Rashid through extra cover, only to deflect the ball onto his stumps.
Stubbs' dismissal was sandwiched between the dismissals of Marques Ackerman and James Fuller. The three dismissals came in the 14-ball period when the Sunrisers scored 15 runs and lost three wickets.
Marco Jansen and Brydon Carse hit a few lusty blows to deny the Capitals a bonus point win. Beyond that, the allrounders' effort was too little too late for the visitors. Jansen scored a brisk 36 off 20 and Carse hit 26 runs from 13 balls.
Wayne Parnell led the way with the ball. The left-arm seamer was the Capitals' most successful bowler with two wickets from four overs at an economy of 6.66. Adil Rashid came through with two wickets but at a higher economy rate of 11.5 runs an over.
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Phil Salt (wk), Will Jacks, Rilee Rossouw, Theunis de Bruyn, Shane Dadswell, James Neesham, Wayne Parnell (c), Migael Pretorius, Eathan Bosch, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje.
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE: Sarel Erwee, Jon-Jon Smuts, Jordan Cox (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Marques Ackerman Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, James Fuller, Brydon Carse, Sisanda Magala, Ottniel Baartman.