SA20 hits business end with in-form Sunrisers on top

The SA20 competition officially hits the business end with eliminators, playoffs and finals the order of the week, while the in-form defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, will be looking to make it two straight titles.

During the final week of pool action the Sunrisers were in hot form, as the only team to win all their games while lifting themselves from third to the top of the log, to head into the playoffs with plenty of momentum.

They kicked things off with a thumping nine wicket win over the Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers on Wednesday, bowling the hosts out for 78 thanks to Daniel Worrall, 3/20, and Patrick Kruger, 3/8, before Dawid Malan (40no) and Tom Abell (26no) eased them home.

The Sunrisers have this season bowled the Highveld teams out for the two lowest totals in SA20 history, after skittling the Pretoria Capitals for just 52 in Gqeberha earlier in the competition, followed by the impressive showing in Johannesburg.

The Eastern Cape side then closed out their SA20 pool phase with a double header against the Paarl Rocks, winning both games at Boland Park and St George’s Park.

In the game in Paarl on Friday they powered their way to a superb 208/4 batting first with allrounder Marco Jansen starring with a brilliant unbeaten 71 off 31 balls, while Abell (46), Jordan Hermann (36) and Tristan Stubbs (22no) chipped in.

The Royals were then restricted to 164/7 in response, with Liam Dawson, 2/27, Jansen, 2/34, and Beyers Swanepoel, 2/37, the key wicket takers.

In both teams final pool game in Gqeberha on Sunday the Royals scored 159/7, with Ottneil Baartman, 2/33, the top bowler, while the Sunrisers thrillingly chased the score down with five wickets in hand and a ball to spare largely thanks to an unbeaten 26 off seven balls (1x4, 3x6) from Kruger.

In other games Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) slipped to second on the log, but will still get two shots at making the final, along with the Sunrisers, due to the teams favourable positions.

In Durban on Tuesday DSG beat the Capitals by eight runs after batting first and scoring 174/9, with Matthew Breetzke (73) top scoring and Daryn Dupavillon, 3/25, and Senuran Muthusamy, 3/26, the top bowlers for the Pretoria side.

The Capitals responded with 166/9, Will Jacks (41) the top scorer, while Junior Dala was the star for the home team with fantastic figures of 5/26.

DSG then opened the door for the Sunrisers to get ahead of them on the log by going down by seven wickets to the Super Kings in their final pool match in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The visitors batted first and scored an imposing 203/6, with Jon Jon Smuts (55), Wiaan Mulder (59) and Heinrich Klaasen (40) producing the goods, but they were upstaged by the home batters as Faf du Plessis (57), Leus du Plooy (57), Wayne Madsen (44no), Moeen Ali (26) and Donovan Ferreira (14no) got them over the line with a ball to spare.

In all it was a wild week for the Super Kings, who just snuck in behind the Royals as the fourth and final team to make the playoffs, after seeing themselves move in and out of the knockout race.

They thrashed MI Cape Town by 10 wickets in an eight over shootout at Newlands on Monday after rain scuppered most of the game, to move into fourth, but dropped out after their hammering by the Sunrisers, only to force their way back in with the penultimate ball heroics against DSG.

The two teams to miss out on the playoffs are MI Cape Town and the Capitals, after they essentially knocked each other out in their double header.

First MI Cape Town gave themselves a chance to qualify by beating the Capitals in a high scoring clash in Pretoria on Thursday, with the visitors scoring the second highest total in SA20 history of 248/4 thanks to Ryan Rickelton (90), Dewald Brevis (66no) and an unbeaten 27 off seven balls from Kieron Pollard.

The Capitals were then reduced to 42/6 in the chase, only for Kyle Verrynne to produce arguably the best innings in SA20 history, smashing his way to an unbeaten 116 off just 52 balls (7x4, 9x6) to get his side to 214/8 which crucially stopped the Cape Town side from getting a bonus point.

The Capitals however bounced back at Newlands on Saturday with a four wicket win, after the hosts batted first and scored 163/9, with Rassie van der Dussen (60) the top scorer, and Wayne Parnell, 4/33, the best bowler.

The Pretoria team then chased the score down with two balls to spare thanks to an important 42 from Theunis de Bruyn and a blockbuster unbeaten 18-ball 38 from Muthusamy to get them home.

The result briefly moved the Capitals into fourth on the log, only for the Super Kings to break their hearts in the evening match.