By
Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen was the star of the show as the Eastern Cape Sunrisers defeated the Paarl Royals by 44 runs at Boland Park on Friday evening.
The Sunrisers won the toss and opted to bat on a typically low-scoring ground. That trend looked to be continuing as the visitors laboured to 69 runs off the first ten overs. The surprise decision to bring Jansen in at four paid off handsomely for the Eastern Cape outfit.
The lanky all-rounder took a little while to get going and saw captain Aiden Markram come and go. When Markram was dismissed in the middle of the 16th over, it was 121 for three with five remaining. Jansen would go on to smash a magnificent 71 runs off 31 balls, ably assisted by Tristan Stubbs, who played an inspired cameo of 22 from 10. The Royals were their own worst enemy with an abject bowling performance at the death with both Lungi Ngidi and Obed McCoy the main culprits.
It looked an uphill battle for the home side but they kept with the rate in the power play with the dangerous English duo of Jos Buttler and Jason Roy turning on the style. A pivotal moment came when Roy was caught and bowled by Liam Dawson. Buttler continued unabated and brought up his half-century off 35 balls.
With the dismissal of their premier batsman, the Royals' chase went awry. Jansen capped his brilliant batting display off with two wickets. David Miller had brought himself in at three but failed to get going. Ngidi, who had been poor with the ball threatened to take the bonus point away from the Sunrisers, who however still got their bonus point to ensure they will finish in the top two.
