The Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be facing Durban’s Super Giants in the final of the 2024 SA20 at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town on Saturday.
Keshav Maharaj’s Super Giants have enjoyed a stellar campaign in the SA20 as they accumulated 32 points in 10 games in the group stage.
On the other hand, the Sunrisers have become the only team in the SA20 to reach the final of the tournament in both editions. The Sunrisers topped the table of the T20 competition after Jos Buttler’s Paarl Royals suffered four consecutive defeats in their last four matches, out of which two were handed to them by the defending champions.
Aiden Markram’s side garnered a total of 33 points in ten matches and continued their brilliant form in the knockout stage rounds. Hence, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape are expected to lift the SA20 title for the second time as favorites.
What have they done so far?
The Super Giants have won only two of their last four matches. They lost the first playoff against the Sunrisers, earlier this week. However, they later managed to defeat Faf du Plessis’s Joburg Super Giants to secure a spot in the final of the 2024 SA20.
Heinrich Klaasen’s innings of 74 runs off 30 deliveries and Wiaan Mulder’s knock of 50 runs off 23 balls steered the Super Giants to a total of 211 runs. The Super Kings failed to reach the target as Junior Dala’s performance turned out to be crucial. The South African bowler took four wickets.
The Sunrisers’ recent form has been brilliant as they have been unbeaten in their last five matches. They suffered their last defeat against Pretoria Capitals on January 22. Since then, they have taken down the likes of MI Cape Town, Joburg Super Kings, Paarl Royals and ultimately, Durban Super Giants.
In the first playoff of the SA20, league toppers Eastern Cape locked horns with second-positioned Durban’s Super Giants. Playing at Newlands Cricket Ground, the Sunrisers won the toss and decided to bat first. Dawid Malan scored a crucial half-century, and Aiden Markram also supported the Englishman with a 30-run innings.
Hence, they managed to post a total of 158 for the Durban Super Giants. Nevertheless, Ottniel Baartman and Marco Jensen didn’t let the Super Giants chase the target by picking up four wickets each. Keshav Maharaj’s side eventually lost the match by 51 runs.
Head to Head Record
Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban’s Super Giants have faced each other in the SA20 for a total of five times. The Sunrisers have won three matches while the Super Giants have managed to record a victory only once in the contest, which happened earlier this season.
One of their matches has ended with no result. In the final, the two sides will be meeting for the fourth time in a single season.
Key Players
Heinrich Klaasen (Durban’s Super Giants): Heinrich Klaasen is the second-highest scorer in the SA20 with 447 runs in 12 matches, he’s only behind MI Cape Town’s Rick Rickelton, who accumulated 530 runs in only ten innings. However, the South African batsman would be looking forward to overtaking his fellow countryman in the list as well as helping the Super Giants win their first SA20 title.
Heinrich Klaasen will be playing against the Sunrisers in the final of the SA20
Klaasen has an average of 44.70, however, his strike rate has been around 208. His explosive innings have been a joy to witness for cricket fans as he gave one such example of his prowess against the Joburg Super Kings in the playoffs. Klaasen scored 70 runs off only 30 deliveries, during his innings, he smashed three fours and seven sixes.
Ottniel Baartman (Sunrisers Eastern Cape): Ottniel Baartman has taken 16 wickets for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape in only seven matches. He was wicketless in his first game of the tournament against MI Cape Town. However, since then, he has been irreplaceable with figures of 4/10 against the Super Giants and 4/12 against the Capitals.
Apart from Baartman, Marco Jansen has also been in stellar form this season. The South African all-rounder has taken 15 wickets in nine matches for the Sunrisers. In addition to that, he also played a 71-run innings against Paarl Royals in Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s last group stage match.
Predicted XIs
Durban’s Super Giants: Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Quinton de Kock (wk), Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Dwaine Pretorius, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj ©, Reece Topley, Junior Dala, Naveen-ul-Haq
Sunrisers Eastern Cape: Jordan Hermann, Dawid Malan, Tom Abell, Aiden Markram ©, Tristan Stubbs (wk), Liam Dawson, Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Ottniel Baartman, Daniel Worrall
Prediction
Keshav Maharaj’s Super Giants have gone through a lot of struggle to reach the final of the SA20. However, they have been travelling to different locations for games while the Sunrisers won the first playoff in Newlands Cricket Ground and they’ll be playing the final at the same ground. Aiden Markram’s Sunrisers Eastern Cape are the favorites to win their second SA20 title.