Sunrisers Eastern Cape cemented their status as the undisputed kings of the SA20 after clinching a third championship title, edging out Pretoria Capitals in a thrilling Season 4 final.A glorious, sold-out Newlands crowd was treated to entertainment of the highest quality as Sunrisers captain Tristan Stubbs and Matthew Breetzke shared an unbroken 114-run partnership for the fifth wicket to take their team home by six wickets with four balls to spare.
The heroics were required after Dewald Brevis had earlier produced one of the finest innings the grand old ground at the foot of Table Mountain has witnessed.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Brevis walked in with the Capitals reduced to 8/2 and launched a counter-attack of the highest quality, striking a sublime 101 off 56 balls, including eight fours and seven sixes, to lift his side to 158/7.For much of the Sunrisers’ chase, it appeared the total would be enough to hand the Capitals their maiden SA20 title, until the arrival of Stubbs.
Dewald Brevis of Pretoria Capitals celebrates his century during the final of the SA20 season 4 between Pretoria Capitals (PC) and The Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC)
The Sunrisers skipper seized the initiative with 21 runs off Gideon Peters’ 18th over to breathe life into the chase.The Newlands crowd was on edge as 12 runs followed off Lungi Ngidi’s penultimate over before Stubbs delivered the coup de grâce, smashing two consecutive sixes off Bryce Parsons to send the Sunrisers into seventh heaven.“I am really proud and thrilled. It was a hell of a final. For Dewald to play like he did and for us to hold them to 158, and then needing 13 an over for the last four or five overs,” said Sunrisers coach Adrian Birrell.“I’m very proud. Four finals in a row is a fantastic achievement. I’m proud of every player and the whole squad. Some players haven’t featured, but we’ve got a very good bench. To get here again and give ourselves a chance is special.”
Matthew Breetzke Cape and Tristan Stubbs leads Sunrisers Eastern Cape to victory
The four Player of the Match contenders were Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen and Tristan Stubbs, with the centurion winning 79.9 percent of the fan vote.“You want to win the trophy, but you want to do it the right way and set an example for the younger generation,” Birrell added.Stubbs was equally delighted with leading his team to a championship title in his first season as captain.“So stoked, I can’t explain it. Don’t know what we did or how we did it. Me and Matty were calm out there, though probably panicking too. We bat so well together and kept looking for an over to get momentum,” Stubbs said.“I came in during the 16th over and we ran with it. Funny things happen under pressure. I’ve really enjoyed this month. We’ve had a great group to work with, planned really well, and have a brilliant Orange Army backing us wherever we go.”
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The Capitals have now lost two finals to the Sunrisers after their defeat in the inaugural showpiece in 2023, with captain Keshav Maharaj admitting the pain will linger.“It is disappointing, to say the least. Two batters were in and had got set,” Maharaj said. “You feel the hurt of coming so close. The starts we get with both bat and ball are things we have to look at.“The boys will hurt for a bit. I’m not someone who dwells on negatives, but we have to rectify our mistakes if we want to win trophies as a unit.”Brief Scores Pretoria Capitals: 158 for 7 in 20 overs (Dewald Brevis 101; Marco Jansen 3/10) Sunrisers Eastern Cape: 162 for 4 in 19.2 overs (Matthew Breetzke 68 not out, Tristan Stubbs 63 not out; Keshav Maharaj 1/23)
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