SEC vs PC

That is all from the action tonight at SA20. SEC register a bonus point victory yet again, makes it two in two for them and they are firmly on top of the points table well clear of the next team DSG which is four points below them. On the other hand, that also marks consecutive losses for Pretoria Capitals who failed to chase down a target yet again and are still stuck on zero points after two matches. Tomorrow, the action moves to Durban where DSG will take on the JSK, hopefully with clearer weather than the last time. Till then, this is Sourabh Agrawal signing off on behalf of Pradeep Somasekhar and the entire team. Cheers!

Quinton de Kock is the Player of the Match for his 77 off 47, here are his words: "It was pretty busy. Crowd is quite noisy. Usually I'm on the opposite side. Nice to have them on our side. Initially there was a bit with the ball, just a matter of staying still. Was slow at the start, not easy to take it one. (his partnership with Bretzkee) Was cool, he walked out with an intensity. We dovetailed pretty well with each other, unfortunately we could not carry on and it had to end. (On his bowling attack) Great to have them, still have to give them a score to defend. It was not easy for them at the start but they pulled things back nicely at the end, it got hard for batting. Cool to have those options."

Tristan Stubbs [Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain]: "In this tournament, I’ve usually lost the first couple of games, so I’ll gladly take this result. The way Quinny and Brevis batted was outstanding — they complemented each other perfectly, made smart choices, and were very clear in their approach. It did get a little tricky towards the end, but we were in a really positive position at halfway. We knew the key would be bowling well, and the group delivered beautifully. Having someone like Quinton de Kock, who reads the game so well, makes a huge difference. There’s plenty of experience in this side, and it showed out there."

Keshav Maharaj [Pretoria Capitals captain]: "We lacked control and consistency, and that ended up costing us. On a surface that had something in it for the bowlers, we probably conceded around 30 runs too many. It’s back to the drawing board for us. We still believed that if we could get about 60 in the powerplay, the chase was achievable. The focus now is on building rhythm and maintaining consistency. Andre Russell is still missing, but that’s no excuse. It’s a quick turnaround, so it’s about resetting mentally and fixing those errors as soon as possible."

8:53 PM local time, 12:23 AM IST: MATCH SUMMARY

Sunrisers Eastern Cape (188/6 in 20 overs) beat Pretoria Capitals (140 all-out in 18 overs) by 48 runs and also win a BONUS POINT

Quinton de Kock 77(47)| Adam Milne 4/25(4)
Shai Hope 36(19) | Tymal Mills 2/31(4)

That came down crashing for Pretoria Capitals, from 97/2 to 140 all-out! Capitals looked on track for chasing 189 down at the halfway mark when they were 94/3 in 10 overs needing 95 more in as many overs remaining. But then, a beauty from Muthusamy knocked Smeed's off stump back and then it was all SEC in front of their beloved orange army.

Tharindu Rathnayake came on to bowl in the 12th over and he just applied the handbrakes on this chase, finished with 2/15 in 4 overs with as many as 14 dot balls. The ambidextrous spinner was absolutely exceptional bowling with both hands and left the batters absolutely clueless. Adam Milne picked up a 4-er by the way, he picked up a wicket everytime he was brought into the attack and pegged Capitals back.

Shai Hope played a whirlwind innings of 36 off 19 balls in the powerplay after he came into bat at 3 in the very first over but his knock finished in the powerplay itself. There were other contributions too, Smeed made 35, Ruitherford making his Capitals debut made a 19-ball 25 towards the end when all was slipping way from the blue team as wickets fell around him.

But they needed a couple of guys to take them through but none of the batters put their hands up as they kept losing wickets to a side which looks like it is the team to beat now having won two out of two and both with bonus points making them the table-toppers and that too by a distance.

17.6 Tharindu Ratnayake to Lungisani Ngidi, OUT! MILES UP IN THE AIR AND TAKEN! It's all over, SEC get the bonus point and climb to the top spot on points table with this thumping win! Length delivery on the stumps, Ngidi launches it straight up in the air. Jansen runs forward from long-off, pouches it safely.

17.2 Tharindu Ratnayake to Codi Yusuf, OUT! CLEANED HIM UP! What a night Rathnayake is having, his first wicket, but he's the one that built up the pressure and triggered the collapse. Spears it into the stumps, just too good for Codi, went back to defend, but sneaks through and rattles the off-stump.

Milne finishes with 4/25 and that has to be that as Rutherford walks back. Remember, SEC can win a bonus point if they restrict Capitals to 150 or under. 12 runs or 2 wickets? What is coming first?