The Sunrisers Eastern Cape secured their third successive win in the Betway SA20 after they claimed a five wicket victory over the Paarl Royals at Boland Park in Paarl.

After getting off to a slow start, the Eastern Cape team has picked up speed and moved into second place on the table.

The Royals are proud of how well they can spin bowl, but the visitors were better at it than the home team. The Royals were only able to score 127/7 because Captain Aiden Markram (2/21), Roelof van der Merwe (2/21), and Brydon Carse (2/29) took 6/71 between them in a total of 12 overs.

The Royals were in trouble right away because Sisanda Magala, who was just added to the Proteas ODI squad for the upcoming series against England, had dangerous batsman Jos Buttler caught by a diving Carse at mid-on.

After that, the Sunrisers spinners took over, and only Wihan Lubbe (28) and Corbin Bosch (20) were able to change the scoreboard.

Adam Rossington and Jordan Hermann gave a good start to the Sunrisers’ answer. This player was playing in his first Betway SA20, and he made a big impression with 43 off of 39 balls. Rossington, on the other hand, scored 20 quickly off of just 12 balls.

Lungi Ngidi’s first over with the new ball gave the Royals some early hope when he got rid of Rossington and Sarel Erwee in quick succession.

Then, Hermann and Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram put their team back on track to win with a 53-run partnership.

But there was a sting in the tail when Bjorn Fortuin took out three batsmen in one over, giving the Royals and the excited crowd at Boland Park hope.

Fortuin was great again on his home ground, and he ended the night with 3/20, but Tristan Stubbs (18 not out) and Marco Jansen (21 not out) were able to get the Sunrisers home.

Photo by Sportzpics/SA20/BackpagePix