Adam Rossington’s blazing half-century and player of the match Roelof van der Merwe’s devastating spin took the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a four-wicket victory over the Pretoria Capitals in the inaugural Betway SA20 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The game, which was played on the reserve day because of persistent rain and a waterlogged outfield on Saturday, proved to be great entertainment for the packed crowd of 22 010 who came to watch a fitting climax to a massively successful competition.
For most of the match, it seemed that the unheralded Sunrisers would win comfortably. With left-arm spinner Van der Merwe (4-31) and skipper Aiden Markram (1-17 in four overs) leading the way on a tacky pitch that took a lot of turn and encouraged bounce, the Capitals, having been put in to bat, were dismissed for a relatively meagre 135 in 19.3 overs.
"You come into the side and their fortunes change. What's that about?" ??
— SuperSport ?? (@SuperSportTV) February 12, 2023
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Then Sunrisers’ opening batsman, Adam Rossington, blasted four fours and five sixes in a clinical display of aggressive batting.
The burly Englishman reached his 50 in just 20 balls and he and Jordan Hermann added 67 in 32 balls for the second wicket after Temba Bavuma had gone early, playing on via an ugly slog to Eathan Bosch.
But then the introduction of master legspinner Adil Rashid changed the tone of the game. Rashid got rid of Hermann with his googly, stumped by Phil Salt, and altogether conceded only 13 runs in his four-over spell, repeatedly beating the bat with his sharply turning deliveries.
How about that? ??
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A stunning 6?? from the Marco Jansen to close out an amazing #Betway #SA20 tournament ?? pic.twitter.com/JvDtESfSg0
The other potential match-winner for the Capitals, paceman Anrich Nortje, also contributed to the Sunrisers’ nerves, having Rossington caught by Salt, top-edging a bouncer, and then claiming the wicket of Tristan Stubbs for five.
He and Van der Merwe finished with 20 wickets apiece in the competition, joint leading wicket-takers.
Markram looked good for his 26 in 19 balls, but also fell victim to a shot he probably shouldn’t have played, being caught at wide mid-on off the part-time legspin of Colin Ingram.
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— SuperSport ?? (@SuperSportTV) February 12, 2023
Despite being well ahead of the run-rate, the Sunrisers were feeling the pinch, particularly with the demise of Jordan Cox and Stubbs.
But just when the possibility of an outrageous win for the Capitals was being entertained, Marco Jansen entered the fray with the coolest of heads.
Defending when necessary, he kept his powder dry until Rashid and Nortje were bowled out before driving the first two balls of Neesham’s 17th over for four and six, to seal victory.
DOWNHILL FOR CAPITALS AFTER ROCK 'N ROLL START
Earlier, the Capitals had a rock ‘n roll first powerplay after being put in to bat. Phil Salt cracked Sisanda Magala’s opening delivery through the covers for four, but then holed out to midwicket next ball.
The TV umpire then intervened, decreeing that Magala had delivered a no ball. It was a marginal decision, to put it mildly.
So Magala’s over went for 16, and the Capitals were off to a flier. Back came the Sunrisers with paceman Ottniel Baartman having Kusal Mendis caught at mid-off before – next ball – Van der Merwe bowled Salt with a delivery that was way too full to play off the back foot.
Rilee Rossouw, never one for circumspection, swept and reverse swept his first three balls from Van der Merwe for four and when Theunis de Bruyn edged his last ball to the fence, 17 had come off his first breathless first over.
Wickets continued to fall in clusters, however, as Rossouw drove on the up against paceman Ottniel Baartman, offering a simple catch to extra cover, before Theunis de Bruyn was undone by a brilliant ball from Van der Merwe that pitched on his leg stump and knocked back his off.
The Capitals were now forced to calm down and rebuild the innings, with Ingram and Neesham careful to ensure no more wickets fell for a period.
The pair added 35 in 42 balls for the fifth wicket before Ingram fell to a superb delivery from Markram, the ball pitching on middle-and-leg and knocking back the left-hander’s off stump.
From there it was all downhill for the Pretoria outfit as they lost their last five wickets for 22 runs with Magala and Baartman providing excellent support for the spinners as they claimed two wickets apiece.
Commenting after the game, Van der Merwe said: "It was an unbelievable day. I can't wish for anything more. At my age (38) you never know when your last game will be so I put everything into every ball. There was help in the wicket. So looking back at what Rossington did, that is what won us the game. I’m still buzzing. Perhaps it’ll sink in once we have the debrief in the change-room."
PRETORIA CAPITALS: Philip Salt (wk), Kusal Mendis, Theunis de Bruyn, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, James Neesham, Wayne Parnell (capt), Eathan Bosch, Migael Pretorius, Adil Rashid, Anrich Nortje
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE: Adam Rossington (wk), Temba Bavuma, Jordan Hermann, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs, Jordan Cox, Marco Jansen, Brydon Carse, Ottniel Baartman, Roelof van der Merwe, Sisanda Magala