Sunrisers Eastern Cape won a nail-biter against Paarl Royals thanks to Patrick Kruger’s 7-ball 26*. He came to bat when Eastern Cape needed 22 runs in 10 balls. He hit three big sixes and finished the game with one ball to spare. They topped the table in SA20 2024. Royals chose to bat first and scored 159 for 7. Jos Buttler was the top scorer with 38 runs in 22 balls. The rest of the batsmen did not do much and they were 76 for 4 in 10 overs. Dane Vilas and Wihan Lubbe added 49 runs in 38 balls but they could not accelerate in the end. All the five bowlers took wickets, with Ottniel Baartman taking two. Eastern Cape had a slow start in the chase. They hit five fours and a six but only scored 41 runs in the powerplay. Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma tried to up the ante and Markram got a life on 12 by Andile Phehlukwayo. Markram made the most of it and scored 63 runs with Bavuma in 45 balls. The run rate was still high and Stubbs hit a six and two fours before Kruger took charge. The defeat did not affect the Royals’ position in the points table as they were third, 10 points behind the second best Durban Super Giants. They will play Joburg Super Kings in the Eliminator.
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