A record partnership by Proteas batsmen Quinton de Kock and Matthew Breetzke set up a 48-run bonus-point win for the Sunrisers.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape have made it two out of two, following up their 137-run win over Paarl Royals on Saturday with a 48-run victory over Pretoria Capitals in Gqeberha on Monday, to move top of the SA20 table.
A record partnership by Quinton de Kock and Matthew Breetzke powered the home side to an imposing 188/6 on a normally tricky St George’s Park wicket, before the Sunrisers bowlers finished the job, bowling the Capitals out for 140, with two overs to spare, for a bonus-point victory.
Pretoria Capitals have now lost both their SA20 fixtures, after falling to Joburg Super Kings by 22 runs in Centurion on Saturday.
Capitals captain Keshav Maharaj said his bowlers “couldn’t find consistency and control”, offering lengths that were either too short or too full as the Sunrisers pair cruised to a partnership worth 116 runs.
He said when batting, they missed the injured André Russel in the middle order but could make no excuses as they prepare for the next match against MI Cape Town on Wednesday.
“We still have guys who can put their hand up at any time,” Maharaj said. “There are still eight more games to go so hopefully we build a bit of momentum from the next game.”
Tristan Stubbs, meanwhile, praised his batsmen for adapting to conditions. “Quinny and Breetzke summed up conditions and played beautifully,” he said. “They really complemented each other in the partnership. It was beautiful to watch.”
The Sunrisers next take on Paarl Royals, also on Wednesday.
De Kock and Breetzke put on 116
Earlier, the Sunrisers won the toss and chose to bat.
Lungi Ngidi became the second-fastest player to reach 200 T20 wickets when England international Jonny Bairstow chopped the ball onto his stumps in the second over.
But the Proteas duo of De Kock (77 off 47) and Breetzke (52 off 33) played both lustrous and innovative shots on a wicket that had an average score of 159 prior to the match.
Their partnership of 116 off 70 balls was the highest for any wicket at St George’s Park in any SA20.
Only Jordan Hermann troubled the Capitals bowlers afterwards, with his 37 off 20. Tymal Mills was the pick of the Capitals bowlers, finishing with 2/31 in four overs. The Capitals otherwise bowled poorly and dropped three catches.
Shai Hope (36 off 19) and Will Smeed (35 off 27) gave the Capitals much-needed momentum at the start of their innings. But when they fell to Adam Milne and Senuran Muthusamy, respectively, the required run rate climbed and the innings collapsed from 97/3 to 111/6.
Sherfane Rutherford gave the Capitals some hope with a late flourish (25 off 19). But he received no support and Sunrisers bowlers Adam Milne (4/25), Tharindu Ratnayake (2/15) and Marco Jansen (1/15) tidied up the tail.
