Stubbs, Breetzke deliver stunning assault as Sunrisers capture third SA20 title

Skipper Tristan Stubbs and star batsman Matthew Breetzke answered the call on the biggest stage in South African cricket to take Sunrisers Eastern Cape to their third Betway SA20 cricket title in four seasons at Newlands in Cape Town on Sunday.

Set 159 to win by Pretoria Capitals, two-time champions Sunrisers were under the pump when they needed 42 runs to win off the final three overs.

The second strategic timeout then proved the catalyst for a stunning assault by the Sunrisers batsmen as they smashed 21 runs off an over from Gideon Peters, which included a wide and a head-high no-ball, resulting in a free hit.

The bit now was firmly between their teeth and with incredible commitment to running between the wickets, they took 12 runs off the penultimate over bowled by Lungi Ngidi.

That left them needing nine off the final six balls, to be sent down by leftarm spinner Bryce Parsons.

With the adrenalin pumping through his veins, Stubbs completed the astonishing assault by clubbing the first two balls over the square leg boundary to send the Orange Army into delirium, achieving victory by six wickets with four balls remaining.

Coming together at a troublesome 48/4, the Sunrisers pair added a matchwinning 114 in 11 overs for the fifth wicket, with Stubbs contributing 62 off 41 balls (four sixes and two fours) and Breetzke stroking his way to an outstanding 68 off 49 balls with five fours and two sixes.

Without taking anything away from that remarkable effort, you have to spare a thought for Pretoria Capitals batsman Dewald Brevis, who confirmed his growing maturity with a stunning, counter-attacking century to guide his team to 158/7.

Sent in to bat, Capitals were staring down the barrel when they lost their first two wickets for just one run in the space of seven balls.

It needed an innings of stature and real character to retrieve the situation and the 24-year-old Brevis, guilty at times earlier in his career of being overly aggressive, showed how much he has learnt this season under the guidance of the Capitals coaching staff, led by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly.

In recent matches he has helped the Pretoria side recover from a disastrous 7/5 to defeat Joburg Super Kings and taken them into the final at their first attempt with a thunderous 75 not out against Sunrisers last Wednesday’s playoff.

Despite the intense pressure of the situation at Newlands on Sunday, he revealed how much more focused his batting has become, mixing occasional watchful defence with an array of powerful and cleanly-struck shots that brought him eight fours and seven sixes in his knock of 101 off just 56 balls.

He and the admirable Parsons (30 off 30) balls put Capitals firmly back in charge in a second-wicket stand of 98 in just 11 overs.

Admittedly in different conditions, both players were particularly severe on the Sunrisers spinners. After conceding just 47 runs in a combined 10 overs in their playoff win against Joburg Super Kings on Friday, this time the trio of Senuran Muthusamy, James Coles and Chris Green travelled for 92 runs in eight overs.

It was just as well these two came to the party for Capitals because the rest of the batting was ordinary.

They did, though, face excellent bowling by Marco Jansen and Anrich Nortje, who conceded only three runs in the final two overs, leaving them what looked like a manageable target to achieve, even given the pressure of a final.

Jansen has been outstanding all season for Sunrisers and again led the way in the final with 3/10 in four overs, while Nortje cleverly mixed up his extreme pace with slower deliveries to take 1/19 in his four overs.

In the end, it was a finish full of the intensity and courageous play which have characterised this competition for the past month.