Sunrisers Eastern Cape handed Paarl Royals a comfortable five wicket win in the ongoing edition of the SA20 league. After starting the tournament with two losses on the trot, Sunrisers have bounced back with a hattrick of wins.
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Following two back-to-back wins over MI Cape Town, Sunrisers downed Paarl Royals at Boland Park to jump to the second spot on the points table. Meanwhile, Paarl Royals fell to their third loss of the season and are placed fourth on the points table. It was skipper Aiden Markram who once again led from the front.
Winning their third toss in a row, Eastern Cape once again called it right as they elected to field first.
After being sent into bat Paarl Royals got off to a shaky start as they lost both openers early. While Sisanda Magala removed the dangerous Jos Buttler for just 12 off 9, opener Jason Roy fell soon after. Markram cleaned up Roy for just six off six, as Royals were reduced to 18/2 in 2.3 overs.
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Having lost their openers early, Wihan Lubbe and Corbin Bosch momentarily steadied the Royals’ innings. Lubbe and Bosch added 40 off 31 for the third-wicket stand. But Brydon Carse handed Sunrisers a breakthrough as Lubbe fell for 28 off 21. Thereon Royals struggled to build partnerships as Easter Cape restricted them to 127/7 in.
Skipper Markram led the attack with a two-wicket haul. While Markram turned in figures of 2/21, Roelof van der Merwe and Brydon Carse pocked two each to restrict the Royals.
Comfortable Chase
Adam Rossington and Jordan Hermann handed Sunrisers a strong start at the top as the pair put up 35 off 22. Hermann top-scored for Sunrisers with a 39-ball 43.
Player of the match Markram played a crucial knock to guide Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a comfortable win. Markram and Hermann put up a match-winning third-wicket partnership. The pair added 57 off 50 to set Sunrisers up for the win.
Though they suffered a mini collapse in the middle, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen finished the job as they chased down the target with ten balls remaining.
