Through the efforts of Aiden Markram, Liam Dawson and Marco Jansen, Sunrisers Eastern Cape scored 149/7 and then defended it successfully against Pretoria Capitals in Gqeberha. Aiden Markram picked up the pieces of a batting collapse and pushed his team ahead in the company of the other two, who then took seven wickets between them to trigger Capitals’ collapse in chase.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape powered to a third consecutive victory in the SA20 after beating Pretoria Capitals by 52 runs at St George’s Park on Wednesday. The two-time defending champions started the tournament with three losses but have now found their groove at the right time to sit third in the standings.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: “This pitch is bone dry. This wind is crazy. Between 40-70kmph. It’s going to be on the slow side and it is going to dry out. This wind is a massive factor. Facing up to the new ball is going to be key, there’s going to be a little extra bounce. Want to be targeting downwind as a batter. Bowlers need to bring the stumps into play” say Mike Haysman and Vernon Philander in a rather quirky and entertainingly delivered pitch report.
Toss : Pretoria Capitals skipper Rilee Russow won the toss and chose to field with three changes in the playing XI. Sunrisers Eastern Cape skipper Aiden Markram batting first made no changes in the playing XI.
Skipper Aiden Markram’s unbeaten 68 runs powers SEC to 149 for 7 in 20 overs
Asked to bat first, the Eastern Cape made a horror start – losing Zak Crawley, David Bedingham and Tom Abell for just 14 runs inside the PowerPlay.
It did not start well for the hosts though after they were put in to bat, slipping to 53-5 as the Capital’ seam-bowling duo Eathan Bosch (3-33) and Jason Behrendorff (1-34), making his SA20 debut, wreaking havoc. Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram led the recovery but needed support and it was initially found with Marco Jansen (24 off 20 balls) as the Proteas pair added 39 for the sixth wicket.
Jordan Hermann and Tristan Stubbs departed for cheap, leaving the defending champions five down at the halfway stage. Aiden Markram led the recovery, forging two effective partnerships with Marco Jansen (24 off 20) and Dawson (25 off 11). He finished unbeaten on 68 off 55, setting a target of 150 for his Rilee Rossouw’s team.
Aiden Markram then found another able partner in Liam Dawson with the Englishman striking two sixes to score 25 from just 11 balls while Aiden Markram finished on 68 not out off 55 deliveries as the home side posted a total of 149-7.
Marco Jansen and Liam Dawson bowls SEC to consecutive third win by 52 runs
Marco Jansen triggered a collapse in chase, dismissing Will Jacks, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Kyle Verreynne inside the PowerPlay. Marco Jansen then provided the early spark with the ball, taking three wickets as the Capitals were reduced to 28-4 inside the opening five overs.
Marques Ackerman and Keagan Lion Cachet attempted to revive the chase but that only lasted until the 11th over when Dawson broke through with the wicket of the former and also dismissed James Neesham. Marques Ackerman (25) and rookie Keagan Lion-Cachet (28) led a mini-recovery from the visitors but the 38-run partnership was broken by the left-arm spin of Dawson (3-17).
With the end of that stand, the lower order crumbled as the Capitals lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs. Dawson did the damage through the middle, finishing with an exceptional spell of 3 for 17 that included the wickets of Ackerman and Cachet. Jansen then returned to pick his fourth – that of Senuran Muthusamy – to finish with 4 for 13. The wickets then tumbled and Jansen snapped another to finish with figures of 4-13 in his four overs as the Capitals were bowled out for a paltry total of 97 in the 17th over.
Eathan Bosch prolonged the chase but was eventually dismissed in the 17th over by Ottniel Baartman that secured the win for the Eastern Cape.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Aiden Markram the winning SEC skipper and Player of the Match for his unbeaten 68 runs said : It was tough, the new ball was doing a lot, swing and extra bounce. When the ball got soft, the odd one was sticking onto the surface, some were holding on, it wasn’t easy. They have got some skillful bowlers, so I wanted to watch my technical aspect and thankfully it allowed me to get in.
We didn’t want to pull the trigger too early, he provided the impetus (on Marco Jansen), the small knocks from him and Dawson were so important and it allowed me to settle. He keeps getting better and better, it’s great for South Africa to see such a young guy keep performing. He has a calm head and a cool character, thankful for the crowd to have come out and supported us in big numbers. It was tricky and to come out to support us on such a windy day was nice to see.
Rilee Russow the losing PC skipper said : I thought we did the right thing at the right time with our bowling, 150 was par and the bowlers did their job, but the batters were below par. It was all about natural instincts, we wanted to go as deep as possible, take the match as deep as possible, but they kept taking wickets in the middle.
Hitting half-volleys to mid-off, hitting half-trackers to long leg, that’s not natural instinct. We need to do the right things, stick to our process and a couple of wins, we’ll probably be through to the playoffs. He brings a lot of quality and experience, he’s coming from a good BBL (on Jason Behrendorff).
A comfortable victory in the end and it was orchestrated by the skipper. So after three straight losses, Sunrisers Eastern Cape have now reeled off three bonus point victories and they’re back in the mix for a playoff spot. In fact, they could be challenging for a top-2 finish as well. But the Pretoria Capitals will certainly look back at today’s loss as a missed opportunity. Unlike the first innings, the pitch actually played batter under lights, but too many of their batters threw their wickets away.
As many as 8 batters self-combusted and you’ll not win too many cricket matches with such self indulgence. Just two batters, the young pair of Ackermann and Lion-Cachet went past 20s and that itself is a story of how poor their batting was. They’re now placed 5th and will need to be much better if they’re to entertain hopes of qualification to the playoffs.