Cape Town, Jan 26 (PTI) From his days as captain to now head coach, Sourav Ganguly’s wretched luck in big finals appears to have followed him, as Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat his Pretoria Capitals by six wickets to clinch their third SA20 title in four seasons here.
A glorious sold-out Newlands crowd was treated to entertainment of the highest quality with Sunrisers captain Tristan Stubbs (63 not out off 41 balls) and Matthew Breetzke (68 not out off 49 balls) sharing an unbroken 114-run partnership for the fifth wicket to take their team over the line by six wickets with four balls to spare in a chase of 159.
The heroics were required after Dewald Brevis (101 off 56 balls) had earlier constructed one of his finest T20 innings in Pretoria’s total of 158 for 7.
The match was won and lost in the last two overs of Pretoria Capitals innings and especially after Brevis got out off the second ball of the 19th over and Roston Chase (4 not out off 9 balls), Keshav Maharaj (0 off 3 balls) and Lizaad Williams (0 not out off 1 ball) managed just three off 10 deliveries.
Sunrisers Eastern Cape, a side coached by Adrian Birrell, has now played all four finals and come up best on three occasions.
For Ganguly, the saga of final losses on South African soil continued. He had previously lost the 2003 World Cup final as captain, and now suffered another setback as the first Indian head coach of a T20 franchise in an overseas league. His association with Delhi Capitals has also seen final losses in both the IPL and the WPL during his tenure as team director.
Earlier, Brevis strode to the crease with the Capitals reduced to 8 for 2 and immediately launched a counter-attack of the highest quality with the League’s record-signing striking eight fours and seven sixes to set up his team’s 158 for 7.
For three quarters of the Sunrisers’ chase, it seemed that it was going to be enough to lead the Capitals’ to their maiden SA20 title until the arrival of Stubbs.
The Sunrisers skipper seized the initiative with 21 runs off Gideon Peters’ 18th over to breathe life into the chase.
The Newlands crowd was on the edge of their seats as they sensed that something special was to unfold with 12 runs following off Lungi Ngidi’s penultimate over before Stubbs delivered the final blow with two consecutive sixes off Bryce Parsons to send the Sunrisers into seventh heaven.
“I am really proud and thrilled. It was a hell of a final. For Dewald to play like he did and for us to hold them to 158. And then needing 13 an over for the last four-five overs,” Sunrisers coach Adrian Birrell said.
“I’m very proud. Four finals in a row is a fantastic achievement. I’m very proud of every player and the whole squad. Some players haven’t played and we’ve got a very good bench that could have played in other teams, perhaps, but I’m very proud to get here today and we’ve got to be giving ourselves a chance.
“You want to win the trophy but you want to do it the right way and set an example for the younger generation.” Stubbs was equally “stoked” with leading his team to a championship title in his first season as captain.
“So stoked, can’t explain it. Don’t know what we did or how we did it. Me and Matty out there, we were calm but probably were panicking too. We know we bat so well together. Kept looking for an over to get momentum,” Stubbs said.
“Came in the 16th over and we ran with it. Funny things happen under pressure. Have really enjoyed this month. Have had a great group to work with. We plan really well for games. It’s a great run management by Aidi (coach Adrian) and the team. And we have a good Orange Army that backs us wherever we go.” The Capitals have now lost two finals to the Sunrisers after their defeat in the inaugural showpiece back in 2023, and captain Keshav Maharaj admitted the pain of the defeat will sting for some time to come.
“It is disappointing to say the least. Two batters were in and got set. You feel the hurt of coming so close. The starts we get from both bat and ball is something we have to look at.
“Boys will hurt for a bit. I’m not someone who dwells on the negatives. But we have to rectify the mistakes if we have to win trophies as a unit,” said Maharaj. PTI KHS AM KHS AM AM
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