The two-time champions from seasons one and two are again in the mix in the play-offs.
Englishman James Coles, just 21 and in his second game in the SA20 competition, enjoyed a match to remember after starring in the Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s big win against the Joburg Super Kings in Gqeberha on Wednesday.
The two-time former champions, with their fifth win in eight matches, have rocketed to the top of the points table with 24 points and will now fancy their chances of finishing inside the top two. They are the first team this season to qualify for the knockouts.
Tristan Stubbs’ team were just too good for the Super Kings on Wednesday, winning by 61 runs after restricting the visitors to 117 after being set a target of 179 to win.
All-round Coles
Coles, coming in at 90/4 in the 11th over for the Sunrisers, hit 10 fours for a scintillating 61 off 34 balls, to propel his team to 178/5 in their 20 overs, while his left-arm spin bowling also caused all sorts of problems for the Super Kings batters as he returned figures of 2/34 in his four overs.
The newcomer also played his part in the field, orchestrating the run-out of Matthew de Villiers.
While the Super Kings gave it a good go in their chase under the lights, they weren’t able to put any big partnerships together and none of their batters were able to go past 30, with opener James Vince getting 30 off 23, Michel Pepper 21 off 24 with the next best score 11.
Besides Coles, the other Sunrisers men to take wickets were Senuran Muthusamy, with an excellent 3/26 in four, Anrich Nortje (1/13), Adam Milne (1/10) and Marco Jansen (2/33).
Sunrisers batting
Earlier, after being sent in to bat after the visitors had won the toss, the Sunrisers posted 178/5 in their 20 overs, thanks mainly to Coles’ big hitting down the order, while Quinton de Kock made 54 off 37 at the top of the order.
Jonny Bairstow (18), Jordan Hermann (13) and captain Tristan Stubbs (23 not out) also played their part.
New Super Kings captain Donovan Ferreira, who’s taken over from the injured Faf du Plessis, was his team’s best bowler, with 2/25 in four overs.
The Sunrisers wrap up their round robin fixtures in the coming days, first on Friday away to MI Cape Town before a return match against the same team at home in Gqeberha on Sunday.
The Super Kings also have two matches remaining, at home on Saturday against Pretoria Capitals and next Monday, way to the Paarl Royals.
