Match Center

Right then, that is it from this contest but there's plenty of action to come in the SA20 over the course of the weekend. On Saturday, 25 January, a doubleheader is lined up for the fans and the first game of the day will be played between table-toppers Paarl Royals and Pretoria Capitals at Boland Park in Paarl. That game will begin at 4.30 pm IST (11 am GMT) but you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!

The skipper of Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Aiden Markram says that the bowlers are really clear with their plans and they always execute it well. Continues that it's a bit tough to score freely but the batters are still doing their job. Also says that they put effort into running between the wickets and he is proud of his boys. Ends up talking about the immense support of the crowd which he feels thankful for.

Faf du Plessis, the captain of Joburg Super Kings says that the opposition have a strong batting lineup and the score was about par, maybe about 5 runs more and it was there to be chased. Reckons that they lacked a bit of energy in the chase and needed one big partnership. Adds that they were in the run chase for a while but once they lost a wicket, the opposition managed to put pressure on with the ball. Mentions that hopefully, they can get on a bit of a winning run at home and gun for the playoffs.

Marco Jansen is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. He starts off by saying that the crowd is outstanding as they always feel their presence which is really important for the side. He continues that in batting he wasn't triggering much he just worked on singles and doubles and tried to give the strike to Tristan Stubbs. Also says that he and Richard Gleeson bowl nicely and have good control of the ball. Ends up saying that they reckoned today's wicket would be tough to bat on but it got easy when they started their inning.

The Presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bat first on a fresh pitch and Sunrisers Eastern Cape started sluggishly with Zak Crawley once again disappointing. However, the likes of David Bedingham and skipper Markram did well to accelerate and got their side in a solid position. Joburg Super Kings bowled decently in the Powerplay and Lutho Sipamla even picked up a wicket off the first ball but did overstep and they couldn't quite pick up wickets in a heap. Towards the end, it was Tristan Stubbs who played a handy knock with the bat and took the Sunrisers over the 160-run mark. In reply, JSK managed to stay in touching distance of the required rate for the first 10 or so overs but just lost too many wickets in the back end of the innings and were beaten yet again.

Quite a spirited run chase from Joburg Super Kings but it was always going to be something special to chase in excess of 160 runs at this venue. Faf du Plessis came out playing his shots and got a few boundaries away too but fell soon after. Devon Conway though showed a lot of confidence and tried to play an anchoring knock but fell in the 40s. JSK kept pushing hard and a few batters got boundaries away but no one could get that big individual score. They ended 14 runs short which is not much and probably, if one of the top-order batter had stayed on till the death, they could have snatched the win as well.

The Sunrisers had a solid total on board given the nature and history of the pitch but it was a fresh one as well, which made it better for batting. However, the pace duo of Marco Jansen and Richard Gleeson bowled superbly up top as the ball beat the bat continuously. They didn't quite manage to take wickets in a heap and let the opposition make a comeback in the middle phase of the chase. Liam Dawson was also held back for quite a bit but he did get the big wicket of Conway and Jansen who was bowled out earlier than expected, did get a wicket in his final over. Ottneil Baartman and Gleeson closed out the game decently enough and they will now head back on the road with a huge amount of confidence under their belt.

Four wins on the bounce for the reigning champions and Sunrisers Eastern Cape are well and truly back! They don't get the bonus point this time but this win does take them second on the points table, just a point behind Paarl Royals. As for Joburg Super Kings, it is yet another defeat and they are now winless in their last 4 games. Also, what an electric crowd it is here at St. George's Park, certainly operates as the 12th man for the Sunrisers and they are singing and dancing and there's even a light show going on with the crowd waving the flashlights of their smartphones, amazing to watch before eventually, the fireworks go up in a crescendo.

FOUR! Richard Gleeson bowls low full toss, just outside off, around sixth stump. Wihan Lubbe goes for another slog but gets the major connection from the inner part of his bat. The ball zips towards deep square leg fence for a boundary. Sunrisers Eastern Cape wins the encounter by 14 runs!

A bit slower and fuller, just outside off. Wihan Lubbe cleans his front foot to offer another ramp but misses on the outer edge.

Fuller on off. Wihan Lubbe heaves from the inner part of his willow towards long on and still denies the single.

Short and on middle. Wihan Lubbe makes a bit room and cuts it towards dee cover for a couple of runs.

FOUR! Still alive and kicking! Richard Gleeson bowls it fuller and on stump. Wihan Lubbe shuffles across the stump and ramps it over the keeper's head to get four more runs.

Full and outside off. Wihan Lubbe drives it towards sweeper cover and denies to take the single.

Full and straight, quick too, Imran Tahir swings wildly across the line and gets a big inside edge to short fine leg. 25 needed now off the final over.

Imran Tahir is in next.