Sunrisers Eastern Cape retained their title as they thrashed Durban Super Giants in the finals of the SA T20 2024 played at Newlands, Cape Town on 10th February 2024. Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram won the toss and decided to bat first. England opener Dawid Malan fell cheaply as Reece Topley produced a beauty. Jordan Hermann and Tom Abell showed intent in putting pressure on the Durban bowlers.
At the end of the first six overs, Eastern Cape made 55 for 1. With that, the first timeout was taken. After the field restrictions, Hermann and Abell continued to milk the bowling taking singles and hitting boundaries. Abell looked in complete control reaching fifty off just 30 deliveries keeping the momentum going for the Eastern Cape team. Durban captain Keshav Maharaj struck twice in the same over getting wickets of Hermann and Abell.
Aiden Markram and Tristian Stubbs joined together showing their class putting the Super Giants bowlers under pressure. At the end of the second timeout, Eastern Cape reached 145 for 3. Both Markram and Stubbs launched brilliant batting displays keeping scoreboard ticking with big shots. Stubbs reached fifty off just 27 deliveries while Markram remained not out on 42 that helped Eastern Cape post a mammoth total of 204 for 3.
Markram and Stubbs added an unbeaten 98 runs for the 4th wicket. For Durban, Keshav Maharaj was the pick of bowlers with 2 for 33. Chasing 205 runs to win, Quinton de Kock was dismissed cheaply by Dainell Worrell taking the inside edge onto the stumps. Marco Jansen showed his class getting wickets of Jon Jon Smuts and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the same over to put enough pressure on the Durban batters. It was a disciplined bowling effort by Eastern Cape bowlers not allowing them to score runs.
Wiaan Mulder showed intent while Matthew Breetezke struggled against disciplined bowling. Mulder was given out but on review, the decision was overturned to not out. At the end of the first timeout, the Durban Super Giants made 55 for 3. After the timeout, Simon Harmer dismissed Mulder with a good catch by Jansen. Mulder and Breetezke added 56 runs for the 4th wicket. Baartman picked the big wicket of Heinrich Klassen without opening his account to derail Durban Super Giants’ batting.
Dwaine Pretorius provided some resistance, but Sunrisers Eastern Cape skittled them out for 115 in 17 overs. Sunrisers Eastern won the match by a massive 89-run margin. For his 55 off 34 deliveries, Tom Abell was named player of the match award.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape Performance in SA T20 2024
Sunrisers Eastern Cape had a memorable outing in the SA T20 2024. They came into the tournament winning the title last year. They finished at the top of the points table with 33 points with 7 wins, 2 losses, and 1 no-result. Eastern Cape took on Durban Super Giants in the qualifier 1. It was a dominating performance as they registered a thumping 51-run victory played at Newlands, Cape Town on 6th February 2024.
Tristian Stubbs finished as the leading run scorer for Eastern Cape with 301 runs from 11 matches (9 innings) including 3 half-centuries with the best score of 66. Jordan Hermann also scored 295 runs from 11 matches (11 innings) with 1 century including the best score of 106.
The bowling department saw Marco Jansen, Ottinel Baartman, and Dainell Worrall from the Eastern Cape. Jansen finished as the leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets from 10 matches (10 innings) at an economy of 7.66 runs per over. His best figures in the tournament were 5 for 30 in the finals against Durban Super Giants.
Ottinel Baartman took 18 wickets from 8 matches (8 innings) at an economy of 6.95 runs per over with figures of 4 for 10. He picked 2 four-wicket hauls in the tournament. Daniel Worrall also grabbed 17 wickets from 11 matches (11 innings) at an economy of 7.24 runs per over including best figures of 3 for 20.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
