Throughout the third edition of the Betway SA20, Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram had been wary of his team’s batting abilities. In the Eliminator and the Qualifier 2, his batters put up a good show, however, in the final, his worst fears came true, as SEC’s willow wielders failed to apply themselves while attempting to chase down MI Cape Town’s 181/8 at a packed Wanderers Stadium here on Saturday.  Consequently, they were dismissed for 105 in 18.4 overs, an embarrassing 76 runs short, thereby failing to achieve the three peat which they were so eagerly eyeing, having won the previous two editions of the tournament.

The summit clash was always going to be a contest between MICT’s aggressive batting line-up and SEC’s consistent bowling brigade. And when MICT skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and chose to bat, his batters knew they had to repay his faith with a good show. Interestingly though, there was not a single big score from the MICT batters, but most of them made valuable contributions and at a breakneck pace nevertheless.