SA20 league: Sunrisers register third win in row; defeat Paarl Royals by 5 wickets
When the Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated the Paarl Royals by five wickets at Boland Park yesterday, they became the first team in the Betway SA20 to record three victories in a row. The Eastern Cape team has gained momentum after a sluggish start in the tournament to move into second place on the table.
Sunrisers decided to field first and right from there on, did not take any step in the wrong direction. The Royals could not get their innings going at all as they lost wickets at regular intervals. It all started when Sisanda Magala, who is the latest entrant in the South Afrrica ODI squad against England, dismissed the dangerous Jos Buttler cheaply.
The Royals failed to form partnerships in the middle. Thanks to the spin trio of Roelof van der Merwe, Aiden Markram and Brydon Carse as they out spun the Royals in their home.
To limit the Royals to 127/7, captain Aiden Markram (2/21), Roelof van der Merwe (2/21) and Brydon Carse (2/29) combined to take 6/71 in their combined 12 overs.
The Royals had no answer to the Sunrisers spinners. Wihan Lubbe and Corbin Bosch were the major contributors with the bat with 28 and 20 runs respectively as the rest of the batting collapsed dramatically.
Stubbs and Jansen guide Sunrisers home
In reply, the Sunrisers started on a decent note as the match was in balance at the end of the powerplay.
With his superb new-ball performance, Lungi Ngidi gave the Royals some early optimism when he struck with consecutive deliveries to dismiss Rossington and Sarel Erwee.
However, it was captain Aiden Markram again this time with the bat along with opener Jordan Hermann came to the rescue of Sunrisers with a 53-run partnership for the third wicket to restore the innings.
Hermann made 43 runs from 39 balls and was looking to take the game through before Imaad Fortuine dismissed both Hermann and Markram with some exceptional bowling to give Royals a ray of hope.
But it was a bit too late as Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen remained unbeaten on 18 and 21 runs to guide the Sunrisers to a 5-wicket victory over the Royals.
Imaad Fortuine did try his level best for the Royals with superb figures of 3/20 but went in vain as the Sunrisers held their nerves well.
This marked their hattrick of wins as they moved to the second spot in the points table. Captain Aiden Markram was awarded the man of the match for his all-round abilities as he has led his side beautifully with example.
The two teams will lock horns again on the 24th of January in a reverse fixture match.
