That's all we have for you from this live coverage between Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban Super Giants. Back-to-back wins for the two-time champions!
For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Anirudh Modi who, along with scorer/analyst Paras Yadav brought all the actions of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Aiden Markram (Sunrisers Eastern Cape Captain): "The crowd is unbelievable, said it at the toss as well, it was pumping. When we get into the game, they get into the game and it was really loud and it means a lot to win for them.
The guys played really well in the powerplay, Bedingham got us off to a good start and did not feel like we were in trouble. I did not expect it to play the way it did, it was not a dreadful wicket but we knew there was bounce.
The pacers were really good and our spinners also kept the pressure on in the middle, hard lengths and they got the reward for it. A couple of days to settle down and playing in front of this crowd is going to be really cool for the next few days."
Keshav Maharaj (Durban Super Giants Captain): "Yeah obviously we expected the wicket to play slightly better with some extra bounce and movement but we should have reassessed the conditions better. Full credit to the Sunrisers, they bowled brilliantly today.
(On Heinrich Klaasen coming in at Number 7) Well we wanted to hold him back for the later half of the innings but it did not work out today. We will look to improve our planning on that one as well.
Yeah we are probably not getting the starts that we want with both batting and bowling. We want to go back to the drawing board and get our basics right. Just like the Sunrisers who are yet again coming back and now have the momentum.
Yeah obviously, we can't change what has happened in the past. We have 5 games in hand. It will be a five-match series for us and we want to win all of them."
Marco Jansen (Player of the Match): "I'm landing it on the straight and getting it to move both ways, it's going well. It's not easy to bowl in the powerplay, for me it's all about picking up early wickets and everything else falls into place. I think personally, my focus lies in maintaining consistency to land the ball in the channel and getting guys to play.
I don't think Stubbs is okay with me going ahead, haha, but you know that the coaches get the feeling and they want to try something out. For me, it's about doing what the team needs from me."
Player of the Match: Marco Jansen
Time for the Post-Match Presentation!
10:06 PM IST & 6:36 PM Local Time| Aiden Markram sealed the deal in style, smashing a massive six out of Gqeberha to hit the winning runs and secure the Bonus Point. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape delivered a clinical performance, hammering the Durban Super Giants in front of a jubilant Orange Army at St George's Park, Gqeberha.
Earlier in the day, Durban Super Giants won the toss and chose to bat first. However, the visitors made three changes to their line-up, which significantly disrupted the team's balance. Sunrisers Eastern Cape got off to a dream start.
Marco Jansen and Richard Gleeson were exceptional with the new ball, offering nothing for the batters to exploit. DSG were left reeling as they suffered a disastrous collapse, losing four wickets for just 18 runs inside the powerplay, leaving them in a state of complete shock.
The visitors continued to struggle, losing wickets in clusters and failing to establish any meaningful partnerships. Kane Williamson was the lone warrior, scoring a gritty 44 off 45 balls, but he lacked support from the other end.
Naveen-ul-Haq provided a late flourish with a quickfire 30* off 15 balls, walking in at number 10. His explosive knock, including 30 runs in the final two overs, gave the Durban Super Giants something to defend. Despite the late surge, DSG managed to post a modest total of 115/8 from their 20 overs.
2 wickets apiece for Marco Jansen, Richard Gleeson, Ottniel Baartman & Liam Dawson for the men in Orange. The target for the home side was 116 runs!
In reply, the Sunrisers suffered an early setback as Zak Crawley was dismissed cheaply in the opening over. Tom Abell followed soon after, falling to Noor Ahmad. Despite the early blows, David Bedingham steadied the innings with an aggressive knock, smashing 39 off 20 balls and scoring the bulk of the runs during the powerplay!
Even after Bedingham’s dismissal, the Sunrisers remained in control of the chase. A crucial partnership between Aiden Markram and Jordan Hermann steered the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a dominant win. The skipper, Markram, led from the front, staying unbeaten on 31 and finishing the match in style by smashing a massive six out of the park.
With this commanding 6-wicket victory, the Sunrisers also secured the all-important Bonus Point as well. Stay tuned for the Post-Match Presentation!