By Patrick Compton.
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape won their third match in four days when they overcame a mid-innings wobble to beat the Paarl Royals by five wickets in their Betway SA20 match in Paarl on Thursday night.
This means that the Sunrisers have risen from bottom of the table to second in less than a week.
Facing an apparently comfortable task of scoring 128 for victory, the Sunrisers looked likely to win with a bonus point when Aiden Markram and Jordan Hermann added 57 in 50 balls for the third wicket after Lungi Ngidi had ruffled some early feathers after the Sunrisers had enjoyed a fast start from openers Andy Rossington and Jordan Hermann.
The pair had added 35 in the fourth over when Ngidi forced Rossington to play on for 20 in 12 balls. He then dispatched Sarel Erwee first ball with the delivery of the match, an off-cutter that pitched middle and hit the left-hander’s off-stump.
But Markram and Hermann got the visitors’ innings back on track with some judicious batting with the former striking some lovely cover-drives and the latter two powerful sixes over cover. But just when the Sunrisers looked as though they would cruise to victory, left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin grabbed three wickets in an over – and very nearly a fourth which would have given him a hat-trick.
The first ball of his third over saw off Markram, trying to cut a delivery that was too full and too straight; then, with his fourth ball, he had Hermann (43 in 39 balls) caught at short third man. His next ball had Jordan Cox playing on and the final ball trapped Marco Jansen in front as the tall man pushed tentatively forward.
The players and home fans exploded with joy, but Jansen reviewed the decision and the ball was shown to miss his leg stump by a millimetre.
That was the high water mark of the Royals’ efforts, as Jansen and Tristan Stubbs nervelessly added 38 in 33 balls to see their team home with 10 balls to spare. Jansen, who had struck a remarkable 67 off 27 balls to see his team home against MI Cape Town the previous evening, finished the game off with a driven four and six off Codi Yusuf to end a match in which the bowlers generally held more sway than the batters.
Fortuin, particularly in his second spell, was the pick of the Royals’ bowlers with 3/20 while Ngidi also impressed with 2/31.
Earlier, the home team would have been very disappointed with their batting performance. Admittedly, the Paarl pitch was its traditional low and slow self, but the Royals – who lost the toss and were put in to bat – batted as if they were the away team, unaware of the conditions they had to face.
Jason Roy, desperately short of form, was particularly culpable, being out to a brainless slog off Markram in the third over, having his off-stump knocked back as a result. Jos Buttler was fortunate with his first boundary, playing too soon at a delivery from Aya Gqamane and threading it at a catchable height through the covers. He made the same mistake again in the second over off the bowling of Sisanda Magala, chipping the ball to mid-on where Brydon Carse, diving to his right, pulled off a fine low catch.
Wihan Lubbe looked by far the most impressive of the Royals batsmen, striking the ball sweetly through the covers on a couple of occasions before he, too, misjudged the pace of the ball, playing on to Carse for 28 in 21 balls.
Eoin Morgan and David Miller both departed to soft dismissals, Morgan pulling Carse to deep midwicket while Miller, after playing one delicious shot off his legs, then tamely drove Roelof van der Merwe to long-off.
Evan Jones departed in much the same way, trying to slog Van der Merwe, as did Corbin Bosch who had struggled for his 20 off 29 balls.
The home team only struck seven fours and a six in their innings.
The Sunrisers’ bowlers will be pleased with their efforts, with spinners Markram and Van der Merwe both taking 2/21 in their four overs while Carse claimed 2/29. Magala, meanwhile, only conceded 15 runs in his spell in return for the vital wicket of Buttler.
PAARL ROYALS: J Buttler (wk), J Roy, W Lubbe, D Miller (capt), E Morgan, E Jones, C Bosch, B Fortuin, C Yusuf, L Ngidi
SUNRISERS EASTERN CAPE: A Rossington (wk), J Hermann, S Erwee, A Markram (capt), J Cox, T Stubbs, M Jansen, A Gqamane, R Van der Merwe, B Carse, S Magala.