By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape fought back from a delicate position to seal its third SA20 title in the final of the fourth edition at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on Sunday.
Capitals looked to have things under control for most of the league final, they lost their grip in the closing stages, and the Sunrisers dug deep to lift the trophy.
Set 159 to win by Pretoria Capitals, Sunrisers were under the pump when they needed 42 runs to win off the final three overs.
The second strategic timeout then proved the catalyst for a stunning assault by the Sunrisers batsmen Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, as they smashed 21 runs of an over from Gideon Peters, which included a wide and a head-high no-ball, resulting in a free hit.
The bit now was firmly between their teeth and with incredible commitment to running between the wickets, they took 12 runs off the penultimate over bowled by Lungi Ngidi.
That left them needing nine off the final six balls, to be sent down by left-arm spinner Bryce Parsons.
With the adrenalin pumping through his veins, Stubbs completed the astonishing assault by clubbing the first two balls over the square leg boundary to send the Orange Army into delirium, achieving victory by six wickets with four balls remaining.
Earlier, after being sent in to bat, the Capitals found themselves in early trouble after losing two wickets for just one run from the first seven balls of their innings.
Middle-order batter Dewald Brevis led a fightback, however, sharing 97 runs with opener Bryce Parsons for the third wicket.
Parsons was run out in the 13th over after contributing 30 at a run-a-ball, and after he was removed, Brevis went on to bash 101 off 56. He hit his third career T20 century as he kept his team together.
He didn’t receive much back-up from his teammates, but the big-hitting Proteas star took complete control.
Despite Brevis running rampant, the Sunrisers managed to pull things back at the death.
It was a repeat of the maiden SA20 final in 2023 in which the Sunrisers defeated the Capitals, before they won again in 2024 and then lost to MI Cape Town the following year.