Owner Kavya Maran felt “unbelievable” as her team Sunrisers Eastern Cape clinched their second consecutive SA20 trophy in as many seasons of the competition.
Aiden Markram’s side was unarguably the best team in the tournament – finishing at the top of the league stage before defeating Durban Super Giants in Qualifier 1 – and deservedly won the final by a huge margin of 89 against Keshav Maharaj’s Durban in Cape Town.
Four of their top five batters scored between 40 and 60, all at strike rates of more than 160 as Sunrisers piled up 204. In reply, Durban simply couldn’t get going. Losing Quinton de Kock for 3 runs and then Heinrich Klaasen for a duck were the biggest daggers in the hearts of the Durban fans.
Marco Jansen finished the game with a brilliant five-wicket haul. Batsman Tom Abell, who cracked 55 runs in 34 balls with the help of 8 fours and 2 sixes, after SEC had lost opener Dawid Malan in the second over, was adjudged the Man of the Match in the final.
Best performance by the team with the bat and the ball: Kavya Maran
Kavya Maran was present at the Newlands stadium for the final to support her team, the defending champions.
After the win, Kavya Maran spoke with the broadcasters and expressed her emotions at Markram’s side winning two titles in two SA20 seasons.
Kavya said, “It’s a second cup. Back-to-back, two in a row. So glad, so happy. Best performance by the team with the bat and the ball. They have been dominating this whole season, and to finally get this through-I mean, it’s unbelievable to be winning it (title) back-to-back. So happy for the guys; everyone put up a great show. Very strong team that we played today, but happy to have the win at the end of the day.”
Watch:
Madam Kavya Maran on #SunrisersEasternCape ‘s 2nd title win #OrangeArmy #SA20 #SECvDSG pic.twitter.com/pdIrVr3729
— Sunrisers Army (@srhorangearmy) February 10, 2024
Klaasen was named the Player of the Tournament for scoring 447 runs at a strike rate of 207.
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