The Sunrisers Eastern Cape will head to Qualifier 1 of the Betway SA20 Season 2 following a bonus point, 44-run victory, over the Paarl Royals at Boland Park on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The Sunrisers will now face Durban’s Super Giants in Qualifier 1 at Newlands on Tuesday, 06 February regardless of the rematch against the Royals at St George’s Park in the final round-robin match on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Royals, meanwhile, will await either the Joburg Super Kings, MI Cape Town, or Pretoria Capitals in the Eliminator on 07 February at the Wanderers.<\/p>\n
The loser of Qualifier 1 and the winner of the Eliminator will battle it out in Qualifier 2 on 08 February at the Wanderers for another chance at the claiming the title, while the winner of Qualifier 1 will book their spot in the Betway SA20 final on 10 February at Newlands.<\/p>\n
Sunrisers won the toss and opted to bat first in the intense heat of the winelands.<\/p>\n
The defending champions adapted to the slow track, and showed great tactical awareness with the promotion of all-rounder Marco Jansen up to No 4 in the batting lineup.<\/p>\n
It proved to be an inspired decision as the Sunrisers posted a mammoth 208\/4, with Jansen leading the run spree with a career-best 71 not out off only 31 balls (4×4,6×6).<\/p>\n
He was well supported by Tom Abell (46 off 25 balls), Jordan Hermann (36 off 37 balls) and Tristan Stubbs (22 not out off 10 balls).<\/p>\n
Jansen and Stubbs were explosive at the back end of the Sunrisers\u2019 innings as they added 87 runs off the final 28 deliveries.<\/p>\n
The Royals\u2019 bowling unit had no answer to the attack as they conceded a flurry of extras during this period with Lungi Ngidi\u2019s final over lasting 11 deliveries.<\/p>\n
The home team\u2019s run chase was always going to be dependent on the start provided by their English opening pair of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy.<\/p>\n
They went on the attack from the outset but could not sustain the challenge after Roy was caught and bowled by his compatriot Liam Dawson for 32 off 23 balls.<\/p>\n
It was too much for Buttler to do on his own, and although he tried valiantly with 64 off 54 balls, the Royals eventually limped to 164\/7.<\/p>\n
Jansen enjoyed a good night with the ball too claiming 2\/34 to go with his half-century earlier.<\/p>\n
There were also two wickets apiece for Liam Dawson (2\/27) and Beyers Swanepoel (2\/37), while the competition\u2019s leading wicket-taker Daniel Worrall (1\/27) extended his tally to 14.<\/p>\n
Photo: Copyright: Ron Gaunt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"