Champs Sunrisers eliminate Super Kings!

Sunrisers Eastern Cape skipper Aiden Markram during his 62 not out against Joburg Super Kings in the Betway SA20 Eliminator at Centurion on Wednesday. Pic/SA20

Catches win matches is a misconstrued statement because catches alone don't win you matches. You have to bat and bowl well too. The Joburg Super Kings (JSK) learnt this bitter lesson at a fan-filled colourful Super Sport Park here on Wednesday as they went down by 32 runs to Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) in the Betway SA20 Eliminator.

Opting to bowl after winning the toss, JSK were exemplary in the field, plucking two breath-taking catches. Skipper Faf du Plessis picked the first stunner when he ran across from mid-off and dived full stretch like a football goalkeeper to hold on to the ball to dismiss David Bedingham off veteran leggie Imran Tahir in the fifth over. Next up, Evan Jones took a scorcher off Hardus Viljoen. Ronan Hermann tried to hoist the SEC pacer in the ninth over but ended up watching Jones sprint in from the deep midwicket fence and throw himself forward to latch on to the ball.

However, even as the crowd was impressed by JSK's catching proficiency, two-time champions SEC remained unfazed and kept collecting runs comfortably. Skipper Aiden Markram led from the front with the bat, top-scoring with 62 not out off 40 balls (5x4, 2x6). He was ably assisted by late cameos from Marco Jansen (23 off 12, 2x4, 2x6) and Tristan Stubbs (26 off 21, 1x4, 2x4) as SEC posted 184/6 in their 20 overs. Tahir (2-21) and Viljoen (2-37) were the pick of the bowlers for JSK.

In reply, JSK were never in the chase, even as middle-order batter Jonny Bairstow put up a bit of a fight with his 17-ball 37 (3x4, 3x6). SEC's four-pronged pace attack, comprising Craig Overton, Marco Jansen, Richard Gleeson and Ottneil Baartman, did well to restrict JSK to 152/7 on a strip that seemed more tilted towards the spinners. SEC will face Paarl Royals on Thursday in Qualifier 2 at the same venue while MI Cape Town wait to meet the winner in Saturday's final. Ends

BRIEF SCORES
Sunrisers Eastern Cape 184/6 in 20 overs (A Markram 62 not out; I Tahir 2-21) beat Joburg Super Kings 152/7 in 20 overs (J Bairstow 37; C Overton 2-20) by 32 runs