By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Dewald Brevis and Bryce Parsons powered the Pretoria Capitals past the Sunrisers Eastern Cape by seven wickets at Kingsmead to secure their place in the final.
The two-time champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, won the toss at Kingsmead and elected to bat first.
Chasing 171 for a spot in their second-ever final, Brevis and Parsons shared a match-winning 91-run partnership for the third wicket, allowing the Capitals to steamroll the former champions. Brevis finally lived up to his immense potential on the big stage, smashing seven maximums and four boundaries in a blistering, unbeaten 75 off just 38 deliveries.
Parsons enjoyed a dream outing; after his exploits with the ball, the left-hander struck a composed 60 off 44 balls — including two sixes and four fours — to help seal a dominant victory. Connor Esterhuizen also played a vital supporting role, contributing 22 off 19 balls.
Sunrisers’ bowlers Chris Green (1/31), Anrich Nortje (1/33), and Lewis Gregory (1/42) claimed a wicket apiece but were unable to stem the tide as Brevis found his range.
Earlier, Quinton de Kock’s (19) struggles against right-arm off-spin continued when Roston Chase knocked over his off-stump to give the Capitals their first breakthrough inside the powerplay.
Following De Kock’s departure, the Sunrisers promoted Jordan Hermann to number three, dropping Matthew Breetzke down the order to maintain a left-hand/right-hand combination with Jonny Bairstow.
Despite the tactical reshuffle, the Capitals’ bowlers squeezed the Sunrisers, forcing Hermann and Bairstow to work for every run. Just as the pair found their rhythm with an 81-run stand, Keshav Maharaj (2/24) struck, trapping Bairstow (50) in front to break the partnership.
From that point, the Sunrisers’ innings unravelled, hampered by the batting order changes and poor shot selection. An out-of-form Tristan Stubbs struggled to rotate the strike at number four, piling pressure on Hermann (41), who eventually fell to the “golden arm” of Parsons.
Parsons (3/10) then ripped through the middle order, claiming the wickets of Chris Green (1) and Matthew Breetzke (2), while Maharaj accounted for Marco Jansen (1).
The Capitals now advance directly to Sunday’s final at Newlands in Cape Town, while the Sunrisers will get another opportunity on Friday in Qualifier 2. Their opponents at the Wanderers will be confirmed on Thursday night.
The Paarl Royals and Joburg Super Kings will clash in the Eliminator at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The winner will progress to Qualifier 2, while the loser will bow out of the competition. Play gets underway at 17:30.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Jonnny Bairstow, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann, Tristan Stubbs (captain), Marco Jansen, James Coles, Lewis Gregory, Chris Green, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje.
Pretoria Capitals : Connor Esterhuizen, Shai Hope (wkt), Jordan Cox, Bryce Parsons, Dewald Brevis, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Keshav Maharaj (captain), Lizaad Williams, Lungi Ngidi, Gideon Peters.