Sunrisers Eastern Cape‘s bid for an unprecedented third consecutive SA20 title remains intact after a commanding 32-run victory over Joburg Super Kings in the Eliminator at Centurion on Tuesday evening. The defending champions will now face Paarl Royals in Qualifier 2 at the same venue on Thursday.
Captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 62 off 40 balls (5×4, 2×6), propelling the Sunrisers to 184/6. Joburg Super Kings faltered in response, unable to form significant partnerships, ultimately finishing on 152/7.
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Reflecting on the win, Markram acknowledged the team’s struggles in the competition but was pleased with their performance on the night. “We haven’t been at our best this comp and we’ve got a little bit closer to that tonight, which is great,” he said. “I might say this a lot in this press conference, but our bowlers have been really, really good for us. And from a batting point of view, our batters just haven’t clicked the way we would have liked to. Before you know it, you’re five games in, and you’re like, ‘sh*t, man.’ Kept playing catch-up the whole time. But good signs tonight with the bat at least. Small things like that opening partnership go a really long way for us. And then for some of us to spend some time out there and to get to at least 180 is a step in the right direction, at least for now.”
Markram credited the team’s strong start for setting up the win. “The start for me was massive. I think it was almost 50 on the board within four overs when we lost our first wicket. That allowed the team to absorb pressure, and then still get to 180. And I thought we probably could have got a few more as well.”
SuperSport Park continues to be a happy hunting ground for the Sunrisers skipper. “I don’t have a spot in the change room. I always sort of drift around, to be honest. But I think all batters are going to say it’s obviously a lot better batting here. It’s nice when you’re out there in the middle and you know a mis-hit can go for six. There’s a quick outfield, the ball generally comes on really well, and if you’re able to hit space, you get lots of twos and fours in between. It’s a nice template of how you can almost have a set approach at this venue as a middle-order batter, which is quite a rare thing.”
On their upcoming clash against Paarl Royals, Markram emphasised that the focus remains on improving their own game. “To be honest, we don’t look too much into where other teams are at. I don’t think we’ve been particularly great this competition. So we’re chasing, trying to play that perfect game. I know it’s probably never ever going to happen, but that’s what we’re striving for. If we’re able to get close to that, then whatever the result might be, you sleep a lot better at night.”
Meanwhile, JSK coach Stephen Fleming reflected on his team’s campaign after their exit. “You probably have to unravel our season a little bit and put it in perspective. We were hanging on a little bit with the amount of injuries we had, and we just had holes during each game where we weren’t able to be as accurate as we needed to be. Today they played well, got themselves out of a situation, and then put us under pressure in the last couple of overs. It was still a good score. We were happy with 185 as a pass score on that surface, but we just came off a little bit flat.”
Fleming lamented the lack of significant contributions from his top order. “We needed the bigger boys to stand up and get the 75-plus and lead the way. Unfortunately, we just gave wickets away too easily and too often. It’s a pretty simple formula of losing, but I won’t say proud, though I am satisfied with how we hung together in what’s been a pretty tough season.”
The JSK coach acknowledged that constant squad changes hampered their campaign. “The turnover was high. If you look at our squad when we first put it all together, it was very strong with South African bowling and overseas batting. But we just weren’t able to settle enough, and I take some responsibility with that as well. We were looking for calmness with the bat, but today we were anything but.”
Sunrisers Eastern Cape now shift their focus to Paarl Royals, knowing another strong performance will take them to a second successive SA20 final and keep their historic hat-trick bid alive.
