Hermann pleased to get Sunrisers off the ground with ‘special’ ton

Though he admitted he was delighted to rack up his maiden T20 century, Jordan Hermann says he was more pleased with his team’s result after the Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat MI Cape Town in their SA20 clash at Newlands on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old opening batter hit an unbeaten 106 off 62 balls, laying the foundation for the visitors as they picked up their first win of the campaign, while handing MI Cape Town their second defeat.

Hermann was well supported by his teammates, however, with fellow opener Dawid Malan contributing 53 runs before seam bowler Ottniel Baartman took 3/35 to lead their attack, as they snatched a narrow four-run victory.

Keeping themselves in contention throughout the match despite the explosive start by their opponents, MI Cape Town put up a real fight, with Ryan Rickelton (58) and Rassie van der Dussen (41) sharing 108 runs for the first wicket. But the Sunrisers bowlers kept enough pressure on throughout their innings as the hosts fell narrowly short of their 203-run target.

“It’s very special and I’m just grateful to end up on the winning side, otherwise it would be pointless,” Hermann said after the game.

“I’m more focused on what it means for the team. Getting us the win is the most important thing, and I’m more proud about the execution that we’re getting right. I don’t want to focus on personal milestones.”

Looking ahead

After securing crucial points with their first win of the competition, Hermann said the defending champions had already turned their focus towards their next game against in-form outfit Durban’s Super Giants at Kingsmead on Saturday.

With seven matches left in the opening round, the Eastern Cape side were eager to continue climbing the standings in the race for the playoffs.

“I think we can take confidence from the win and getting points on the board. We can take positives from the game with our batting and bowling,” Hermann said.

“But we have a new challenge now, and we just have to focus on our game and adapt it so we can get momentum going in the competition.”