Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s quest for an unprecedented hat-trick of SA20 titles remains on track after they defeated Joburg Super Kings by 32 runs in the eliminator. They will now face Paarl Royals in Qualifier 2 on Thursday for a place in the final.

Captain Aiden Markram continued his fine form at the Pretoria ground, scoring an unbeaten 62 off 40 balls to set up Sunrisers’ total of 184/6. The Super Kings’ chase faltered throughout, as they failed to build meaningful partnerships, ultimately finishing at 152/7 in their 20 overs.

The match was virtually decided in two crucial overs—one in each innings. Sunrisers were at 149/5 with just 12 balls remaining when Markram and Marco Jansen smashed 29 runs off Lutho Sipamla’s penultimate over. Sipamla conceded three sixes, two boundaries, and delivered a no-ball, finishing with the second-most expensive bowling figures in SA20 history at 0/72.

In contrast, the Super Kings were well-placed at 91/3 after 12 overs, needing 94 from 48 balls with set batters Jonny Bairstow and Wihan Lubbe at the crease. Markram took a bold decision to bowl out Craig Overton, which paid off as the seamer delivered a stunning double-wicket maiden, dismissing Lubbe and Moeen Ali to reduce Super Kings to 91/5.

From there, Joburg Super Kings had no way back, suffering their third consecutive playoff defeat.

“Lot of credit to the boys. We haven’t put together a complete game of cricket throughout, and tonight was the closest we got,” said Markram.

“The bowlers were brilliant; the ball came on even better under lights, so a lot of credit to our guys. We saw the odd one react differently, and that’s why we wanted to wait before using the spinners. It is all about execution on a surface like this.

“It was tricky to pace our innings, but we hit a phase where (Tristan) Stubbs and I got into the groove, and then Marco chipped in with a valuable knock.”