Sunrisers Eastern Cape completely dominated their SA20 qualifier clash on Friday night, cruising to a seven-wicket victory over the Paarl Royals at the Wanderers.
The Sunrisers, who booked their place in the final to be played against the Pretoria Capitals in Cape Town on Sunday, progressed to the trophy decider for the fourth year in succession, while the Royals were eliminated from the competition.
Batting first after winning the toss, the Royals compiled 114/7. Opening batter Kyle Verreynne put up a fight, hitting 52 not out off 46 balls, but he did not receive enough support.
The Sunrisers bowling attack were led by spinner Senuran Muthusamy, who took 3/15 to rip through the Royals middle-order, and speedster Anrich Nortje who grabbed 2/31.
Sunrisers innings
In response, English all-rounder James Coles bashed an unbeaten 45 off 19, guiding the Eastern Cape side to 117/3 with more than eight overs to spare.
Coles, who also took 1/15 with the ball to help contain the Paarl outfit earlier in the game, was named Player of the Match.
“We’re chuffed to get into the final. Fortunately we got to see what the pitch was doing by bowling first,” Coles said afterwards.
