During the final match of SA20 2023 between Pretoria Capitals and Sunrisers Eastern Cape in Cape Town, Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat Pretoria Capitals by 4 wickets to win the inaugural season of the tournament.
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Chasing a below par 136-run target on a Sunday afternoon, Sunrisers weren’t able to dominate the opposition but collectively managed to seal the chase with 22 balls to spare.
Opening the batting with Temba Bavuma (2), Sunrisers wicket-keeper batter Adam Rossington scored his 14th T20 half-century in a winning effort. A pivotal reason behind a comfortable victory, Rossington scored a hard-hitting 57 (30) consisting of four fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 190.
Eventually, Sunrisers all-rounder Marco Jansen (1/22 & 13*) hit counterpart James Neesham for a six and four off consecutive balls to bring down curtains on a successful season of a T20 tournament.
SA20 Man of the Match final today
Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram (1/17 & 26) contributed across departments after winning the toss and opting to field first earlier in the day. Markram’s decision was supported to a tee by veteran all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe, who was the pick of the bowlers in the match with match-winning figures of 4-0-31-4 to his name.
Introduced into the attack as a first-change bowler in the third over itself, van der Merwe dismissed the likes of Phil Salt (8), Theunis de Bruyn (11), Eathan Bosch (15) and Migael Pretorius (15) to be among the wickets throughout the innings.
“Unbelievable day. Can’t ask for anything more. At my age [38], you never know what will be your last game. So, I give everything into every ball. There was help in the wicket. Looking back at what [Adam] Rossington did, that is what won us the game. Still buzzing. Will sink in once we have the debrief in the change room,” van der Merwe told SuperSport during the post-match presentation ceremony.
van der Merwe, who had made his international debut for South Africa but plies his trade for Netherlands now, picked 20 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 9.55, an economy rate of 5.61 and a strike rate of 10.2 to finish the season as the joint-highest wicket-taker alongside Pretoria fast bowler Anrich Nortje.
