Spirited Sunrisers stun indolent Capitals to clinch the inaugural SA20 title
Roelof van der Merwe was the wrecker-in-chief for the Sunrisers with a four-wicket haul (Source: Twitter)
Sunrisers Eastern Cape created history on Sunday night as they clinched the inaugural SA20 title after defeating Pretoria Capitals convincingly by 4 wickets in a thrilling Final. Pretoria Capitals made 135 in the first innings before Sunrisers Eastern Cape chased down the target in 16.2 overs.
It is safe to say that Sunrisers made the game way more exciting than it should have been, but what is a final without some drama, especially at the back end? In the end, the Sunrisers' batter held their nerves. At one stage, they were almost cruising to hunt down the total inside 15 overs, but they made a real mess of it as the Capitals came roaring back into this game with wickets in the middle overs. Sunrisers' lower-order batters did hold their nerve, in the end, to carve out a famous maiden title win.
Van der Merwe spins a web around the Capitals with 4/31
Sunrisers’ skipper Aiden Markram, having won the toss, wanted to exploit the moisture present on the wicket to his team's advantage. His decision proved to be correct by the bowlers. Capitals were off to a high-flying start with openers Phil Salt and Kusal Mendis accumulating 16 runs off the first over. Sunrisers' fought back with two quick wickets. Ottniel Baartman dismissed Kusal Mendis, while Roelof van der Merwe accounted for Salt's wicket. Hero of Pretoria's semi-final victory Rilee Rossouw got off the blocks quickly with a flurry of boundaries but he too departed soon after getting a good start. Theunis de Bruyn couldn't hang on and lost his wicket in the very next over.
The wicket was spinning and it was tough to score runs against the inform Sunrisers' bowling. Colin Ingram and Jimmy Neesham added 35 in 42 balls for the fifth wicket before the former fell to a superb delivery from skipper Aiden Markram. The Capitals were reduced to 113/6 inside 17 overs. Once the Sunrisers got into the tail it was all downhill for the Pretoria-based outfit as they lost their last five wickets for just 22 runs.
Roelof van der Merwe was the wrecker-in-chief for the Sunrisers with a four-wicket haul. His efforts helped Sunrisers restrict the Capitals to just 135 in 19.3 overs.
Rossington's assault Steers Sunrisers to Win
Chasing a modest total, Sunrisers had a pretty sedate start to their innings as they only managed to get 9 runs off the first over. They lost Temba Bavuma very cheaply inside the first six overs.
Since there was no pressure on the run rate, Adam Rossington and Jordan Hermann batted freely and took the attack to the opposition bowlers, particularly Eathan Bosch and Migael Pretorius. Sunrisers' overseas recruit Rossington ended the power play by smashing 26 runs in the 6th over as Sunrisers ended with 76/1 (Their best power play in the tournament). In the process, Rossington reached his fifty.
The dynamic opener made mincemeat of the Capitals' new-ball attack. His blistering knock nearly killed off the game as a contest. Rossington and Hermann were going pretty nicely but then came Adil Rashid and he tried to shift the momentum in his team's court with a wicket of Hermann. Rossington slowed down a bit after completing his fifty and was eventually dismissed by Anrich Nortje.
Skipper Markram started well but he too slowed down in the middle. In a bid to accelerate, he lost his wicket. Anrich Nortje and Adil Rashid kept the Capitals in the game as Sunrisers lost the plot between 10-15 overs as Sunrisers slipped from 78/2 to 126/6, needing 10 runs in 24 balls. Despite a late stutter, Marco Jansen's cameo made sure that Sunrisers reach home with utmost ease. The lanky all-rounder finished the match and the tournament by smashing a huge six-over extra cover.
Brief Scores:
Pretoria Capitals: 135/10 (19.3)
Kusal Mendis: 21(19), Rilee Rossouw 19(11)
Roelof van der Merwe 4/31, Ottniel Baartman 2/22
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: 137 (16.2)
Adam Rossington 57(30), Aiden Markram 26(19)
Anrich Nortje 2/21, Adil Rashid: 1/13
Match Result: Sunrisers Eastern Cape won the match by 4 wickets
 "Vaibhav Tripathi")
