Jordan Hermann carved a brilliant half-century to set the Sunrisers Eastern Cape up for a 48-run bonus-point win over the Paarl Royals in their Betway SA20 match at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Saturday afternoon.
Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to have his side, the Sunrisers, bat first.
The home side scored 148-8, setting the Royals a target of 149, thanks to Hermann's half-century and some great hitting from Tristan Stubbs.
The visitors recovered from an early collapse instigated by Craig Overton and Marco Jansen and responded with just 100 runs.
The hosts bowled out the Royals in 18.2 overs.
“It feels nice to be contributing to the team. I have been batting well in the nets and luckily I could make a contribution to a winning cause today,” Hermann, the Player of the Match, shared after the encounter
This is the Sunrisers' fourth win at home in five matches.
The victory is a welcome morale booster for the defending champions, who have not had the best season so far.
A fourth home victory for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape ✅
— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) February 1, 2025
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They head into their playoff tie against the Joburg Super Kings in the Eliminator on Wednesday with positive momentum and a spring in their step.
The Royals will want to have forgotten about the defeat when they face MI Cape Town in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday.
“We weren't on it as a group and we will take that on the chin. We will do some reflection and hopefully we can come out better in the next game,” Bjorn Fortuin, the Royals’ captain, shared.
The Sunrisers' batting department has not been at their best this season and the defending champions have had to rely on their bowling attack to win games.
A key feature of their bowling has been their wicket-taking in the powerplay. They kept their impressive record by reducing the Royals to 25-5 in the first six overs.
JANSEN-OVERTON DOUBLE ACT
Aiden Markram, the Sunrisers captain, gave Overton and Jansen three overs each in the first six overs and the duo decimated the visitors.
Jansen generally bowls the first over, and more often than not, he takes a wicket.
The Sunrisers opted for a different path, they opened with Craig Overton and the Englishman struck in the over, dismissing Lhuan-dre Pretorius with the final ball.
And Jansen was involved in the wicket, he took the catch. The Jansen-Overton double-act for the first wicket served as a metaphor for the powerplay. They owned it.
Overton finished with three wickets for 15 runs in four overs, while Jansen also took three wickets, but was slightly more expensive. He conceded 22 runs in four overs.
An exhibition of seam bowling 👏 #BetwaySA20 #SECvPR #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/gO4ufCC2a4
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“Our bowlers are finding ways to get early wickets, will let them keep doing their thing and as batters, we need to find a way,” Markram shared.
The Royals fought back with a 49-run sixth-wicket partnership between Rubin Hermann (35) and Andile Phehlukwayo (22).
The stand gave the visitors a glimmer of hope and was gaining momentum when it was broken by Markram's dismissal of Phehlukwayo.
The Sunrisers captain solidified his side's position with his second wicket on the next delivery, to make it two in two.
HALF-CENTURY FOR HERMANN
Jordan Hermann was a constant feature in the Sunrisers starting line-up through the first two seasons.
However, the arrival of Zak Crawley in season three meant that he had limited opportunities.
Coming into this match, Hermann had only featured twice for the home side, and had been dismissed cheaply in both instances.
The 23-year-old made a triumphant return, carving six fours and a single six on his way to a 32-ball half-century.
This is his second SA20 half-ton, and the third time that he has passed the 50-run mark in the tournament.
That Jordan Hermann swivel#BetwaySA20 #SECvPR #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/YaP5oWA0GA
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The left-hander's first half-century came in 2023, a well-played 59.
In 2024, he went a step better and creamed a masterful 106 against MI Cape Town. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old couldn't replicate his 2024 heroics, and he fell for a well-played 53 off 38.
“We started really well, got to 50 in the powerplay. Nice positive there. Stumbled our way through the rest of the innings before Stubbs got us to a score in the final over. We can take a lot of confidence moving forward,” Markram shared.
The Sunrisers lost their way in the middle overs as the Royals took control of the contest with the ball.
The home side faced 47 deliveries without scoring a boundary and looked in danger of registering a total below 130. Then Stubbs stepped up.
St George's Park loves it when Tristan Stubbs smashes it 💥 #BetwaySA20 #SECvPR #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/M9FliKXnNt
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The Proteas star looked to be struggling for most of his innings, and moved at a slow pace, scoring 20 off 21 in his first five overs in the middle.
Stubbs bided his time and then uncorked his power-hitting abilities in the final over, plundering 22 runs from four balls to leave the Sunrisers close to 148.
He fell trying to go for another six, instead he skied the ball and was caught for 43 off 27 deliveries.
Bjorn Fortuin was the most successful bowler for the Royals with two wickets for 20 runs in four overs.
Mitchell Owen and Eshan Malinga also bagged a brace of wickets each, but had higher economy rates, while Dinuth Wellalage took a single wicket.
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE: David Bedingham, Tony de Zorzi, Jordan Hermann, Aiden Markram (capt), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Tom Abell, Marco Jansen, Liam Dawson, Craig Overton, Ottneil Baartman, Richard Gleeson.
PAARL ROYALS: Mitchell Owen, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Rubin Hermann, Dunith Wellalage, Mitchell van Buuren, Dewan Marais, Andile Phehlukwayo, Bjorn Fortuin (capt), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Eshan Malinga, Lungi Ngidi.