PC vs SEC

Fantastic night and a fantastic game of cricket that went right down to the final over. And when the dust settled, it was Sunrisers Eastern Cape who emerged victorious. There is something special about this team. Four finals in four seasons, and three titles to show for it. It truly does not get any better than this.

Tristan Stubbs (Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain): "Honestly, I don’t know what we did or how we did it. There was probably a lot of luck involved. But we actually did it. Maddie and I were out there together. We were calm, but at the same time, we were probably panicking as well. It was pretty awesome. We know we’ve batted well together before. We kept telling ourselves that we just needed one over to swing momentum our way. Fortunately, that came in the 16th over. From there, we just ran with it. Funny things happen under pressure. I’ve really enjoyed this month. It’s been a great group to work with and we’ve planned really well. The bowlers are very experienced, which makes things easier. Quinny and I have had a great understanding. We chat a lot about bowling changes and strategy. It’s been a full team effort. The senior players have been outstanding, and to finish like this is special. We keep things simple. At the start of the tournament, we tell the local boys to give the overseas players their best month and show them our country. Adii (Adrian Birrell) does a brilliant job of bringing everyone together. The management of the group has been excellent."

Keshav Maharaj (Pretoria Capitals captain): "Disappointed. They went for 60 in the powerplay, and at that stage we felt we were right in the contest. There were two clear battles out there and we were well set. That is what makes it disappointing, to come all this way and fall just short. I must commend our supporters though. The backing we received, both at home and on the road, was outstanding. It has been a very topsy-turvy season, and when you get this close, the hurt is real. If you look at it honestly, it has been a season of recovery. We were constantly trying to claw our way back. That is something we need to reflect on, particularly the starts, both with the bat and the ball. Those are areas we need to be better at. On the positive side, the middle order really stood up when it mattered. They put us in a position to compete for a final, and that is something we can draw a lot of inspiration from. It does feel like a ‘could have, should have’ situation. The boys will hurt for a bit, no doubt. That is T20 cricket. You can never take it for granted. It is not over until it is over. Looking at the season as a whole, there are definite gains. We won five of our last eight games, and those were pressure situations where we had to find ways to win. Defending 140 at Paarl, defending 150 here against MI Cape Town, those are moments we can build on. We do not shy away from the negatives. We will identify them and work on them. If we want to compete with the best and win trophies, we have to be better. But there is plenty of inspiration to take from this campaign."

Quinton de Kock (Player of the Series): "We had a great season. Just after the auction, we knew we had a very good team, both on and off the field. It’s a great bunch of boys. We fought really hard for this trophy today, and some of the youngsters showed tremendous grit. You saw how difficult it was to play those kinds of innings in a final, and they did it. I’m really happy for them. To be fair, it’s Stubb's first time captaining, so you’re always going to need to help from me. That’s all it was. There were a few youngsters coming through the season, so I just tried to do what I could at the end of the day. I’m really happy to be back. I’m happy playing cricket again, happy playing for this franchise, and just trying to support everyone while scoring as many runs as I can."

Ottniel Baartman (Paarl royals - most wickets in the season): "Sunrisers was a special group of players as well, so I really enjoyed my time there. But now I am finally here. Despite changing franchises, the wickets keep coming. Probably just enjoying it as much as possible. Obviously, changing franchises and bowling in the Powerplay, trying to lead the attack. We have a great mix of senior bowlers and young bowlers as well. From my side, I try to lead the attack from a bowling point of view. The others have been brilliant, chipping in and supporting me. They deserve a lot of credit for that too."

Adrian Birrell (Head coach, Sunrisers Eastern Cape): "I am thrilled, obviously. It was a hell of a final. For Dewald to play the way he did and for us to restrict them to 158, that was something we would have gladly taken at the halfway stage. Then we found ourselves in a bit of trouble, needing close to 13 an over for the last four or five overs. At the time-out, the two batters looked at me and said, “Don’t worry, coach, we’ve got this.” And they did. It is fantastic to win, and I think it was a great spectacle and a very good final. Of course you want to win the trophy, but you want to do it the right way, to play the game in the right spirit, and to set an example for the younger generation coming through. I am thrilled with that as well."

Devald Brevis (Player of the Match): "A bit disappointed, to be honest, but very proud of everyone. We had a great season. Finals are finals. They come down to moments, and they were better than us in those moments. It hurts, but we will be stronger next time. First of all, it is not me. It is God who has blessed me to do things like this. I just went out there to watch the ball, enjoy myself, and play for the boys and the team. Unfortunately, it was not enough today. We have an amazing support staff. Sourav sir (Ganguly) has helped me a lot with small pointers, especially about being there till the end. Everyone played a key role throughout the season. These last few games were fun in a strange way. Different situations every time. It was about staying in the moment, watching the ball, and enjoying it. Honestly, in these last few innings, it was not hard at all. It was just about playing the ball on merit and staying present. There are times when you want to go big, but I have a small routine that brings me back into the moment. That helped a lot."

Sunrisers Eastern Cape 162/4 (19.2 overs) beat Pretoria Capitals by 6 wickets
Matthew Breetzke 68*(49) | Tristan Stubbs 63*(41)
Keshav Maharaj 1/23 (4) | Lizaad Williams 1/26 (4)

It was an innings of two halves. For a major part of the innings, it seemed like Pretoria Capitals had the upper hand with the Sunrisers struggling to keep up with the scoring rate. But the tried and tested method of taking the game deep worked for them in the end. Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs stayed put through the middle and timed the chase to perfection, accelerating just when it felt like the asking rate was getting out of hand.

After losing Jonny Bairstow in the first over, Quinton de Kock and Breetzke had a decent partnership which lasted till the end of the powerplay. The loss of three quick wickets really put the chase in the back burner. Stubbs and Breetzke stuck it out but couldn't really get any momentum into the partnership for a long time. They were going at less than 6 runs an over at the 13-over mark when finally Stubbs broke the shackles.

The spinners bowled well for the Capitals, but the lack of experience among pacers apart from Ngidi was the telling difference in the end. Stubbs and Breetzke tore into them in the latter half of the innings and they had no answers. The fact that Maharaj had to go with Parsons in the last over tells you the story. Looking back, the last two overs of the Capitals innings producing just 3 runs could well have been the difference in the game.

19.2 Bryce Parsons to Tristan Stubbs, FOUR! Sunrisers Eastern Cape win SA20 2026! Skipper sees his team through! Tossed up full on the stumps, slogs it away to the square leg fence

19.1 Bryce Parsons to Tristan Stubbs, SIX! That should be the game! Just a tad short. Stubbs stays back and pulls it away over the cow corner fence

18.6 Lungisani Ngidi to Matthew Breetzke, FOUR! Fortuitous! Everything going Sunrisers' way! Length ball outside off. Swings hard and gets an inside edge that races away past the keeper

18.3 Lungisani Ngidi to Matthew Breetzke, full toss on the off-stump. Opens the face of the bat and squeezes it past short thirdman. Seems line he got a hand on it and the ball gets pulled back in the deep. Stubbs is sprinting across the 22 yards and he forces his partner for the third