Lubbe ends with a boundary but it is not enough for the Joburg Super Kings! The Sunrisers Eastern Cape make it four in a row, and they waltz up to second in the points table! Full toss just outside off. Lubbe has a wild hack at it and drags it through the vacant square leg region. A cacophony of noise at St George's Park and the thousands at the ground are relishing every moment. They are enjoying their Friday night, and their team has done what they would have wanted them to do!
Eastern Cape vs Super Kings, 19th Match at Gqeberha, SA20, Jan 24 2025 - Ball by Ball Commentary
9:25pm That will be all from us for this game. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and we will be back with more cricket in a few hours' time. Until then, this is goodbye and goodnight from Ranjith and myself!
Marco Jansen, Player of the Match: (On if this is the best crowd) Absolutely. No better crowd in the country. You definitely feel their presence, which is nice. (On their death-overs batting and when they decided to pull the trigger) I didn't pull much of a trigger, I just got ones (smiles). When there were three overs left, we decided to make a play. Stubbs played fantastically. Gleeson has good pace, he swings the ball, nips it, which works nicely on this ground. We bowled nice lines and lengths and reaped the rewards. (Length changes) All depends on the wicket. Today, we felt bowling a hard length was working. Some would skid on, some would stop. We thought if we could hit a hard length, that would be most difficult (for the batters). Ideally, we would like it like that (winning every match) but we will take each game as it comes.
Aiden Markram, Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain: (On their bowling attack) More often than not, it is the execution by them. They are clear in their plans, have played a lot of T20 cricket. They assess conditions, come up with the plan and then it comes down to execution. They have been clutch for us. Even tonight, the game was in the balance, they came up with plans and executed (to win the game for us). It can be a tough place to score freely. Running between the wickets (releases pressure). In a tight game, that might be the difference. Each team wants to hunt you down and that's fair. Not get emotionally invest ourselves into that. You have a target on your back but a game of cricket will always be won out there (on the field). (On the atmosphere) The best. The crowd has been epic for us. Full house again tonight. Covered in orange and incredibly loud as well. Lots of love for them.
Faf du Plessis, Joburg Super Kings captain: They have a strong batting line-up. It was there and thereabouts (with regards to a par score). 160, it felt like a good score. They bowled really well. There was quite a bit of movement early on. Got ourselves in a good position but could not kick on and make the partnership a match-breaking one. There was a period there when Dev and Leus were batting well. We were in line to be more attacking and positive but then we lost that wicket. They bowled some tight overs, put pressure back on us. They (SEC) are very successful at home. Last year, we got on a bit of a run at home. Look forward to the challenge (of playing them at our home) in a few days' time.
9:03pm Another home game, another Sunrisers Eastern Cape victory. They have made a habit of it and tonight was yet another illustration. Their bowlers came to the fore after their batters powered them to what seemed an above-par total. Jansen took out du Plessis early and then returned to remove Bairstow later in the innings. In between, du Plooy and Conway had threatened a terrific riposte but neither could sustain that enough to truly haul JSK in front.
Most of SEC's decisions also seemed to pay off. They opted to bowl off-spinners to du Plooy and Conway, with Markram bagging the former. They brought on Dawson for just the one over but that was at a time when the run-rate was climbing and JSK needed to take risks, which ultimately led to Conway's dismissal, opening the door for the defending champions to barge through.
full and speared across outside off. Lubbe, rather ambitiously, shapes for the reverse-lap and makes no contact whatsoever
length outside off. Lubbe looks for the step-hit down the ground but the ball comes onto him too quickly. Shanks it to long on
Three sixes and we go into a...(well, you know that already). Anything else and SEC will win
short and wide outside off. Lubbe gets his hands through the ball again and cuts it between deep cover and deep point. Back for a brace
wow, what a shot! Zipped in full outside off. Lubbe walks a mile across his stumps and paddles it beautifully between backward square leg and short fine leg!
25 off 5
fullish outside off. Lubbe throws his hands at it and drills it towards sweeper cover. Denies the single, which is the right call
Gleeson to bowl the last over. JSK need 25
angled in full on leg stump. Tahir swings his blade like an axe and squirts it off the inside edge towards short fine leg
Odinlass: "What is the bonus point cut off?" -- JSK have passed it. The most SEC can get from this game now is four points
plumb with a capital P! Zipped in very full on middle and leg. Theekshana has a swipe across the line but was perhaps aiming too square. Gets beaten by the fullness of the delivery and gets rapped on the back leg. That was probably missing leg. And was missing off stump too. Because it was cannoning into middle!
oh, hello! Back of a length wide outside off. Theekshana pre-empts the line and shuffles across early. Winds up thereafter and whacks it clean over deep mid wicket!
full outside off. Theekshana swings like a rusty gate and chunks it back to the bowler. A crowd catch. Not that the crowd needed anything to be more invested in this contest
and he starts off with a boundary! Technically, not quite because this has come off the pad and races away past short fine leg. It was a length ball designed to target the stumps but Baartman erred in line slightly
Theekshana now
Baartman joins the party! Length ball hung up outside off. Viljoen has no option but to go after it. Slices across it too much, though, and lobs it up towards extra cover. harmer settles under it and does the rest. Baartman holds his arms aloft, and that is mimicked by thousands in orange in the stands!
full and wide again. Seems to be beyond the tramlines but the umpire is happy with it. Lubbe isn't but not much he can do there
full and way outside off. Left alone by Lubbe and called a wide
Lubbe launches one into the night sky! In the slot on middle and leg. Lubbe plants his front foot and wallops it way over deep mid wicket!
angled in full on leg stump. Viljoen flicks it towards deep backward square leg and gets off the mark
full and sliding down leg. That is probably the worst ball Gleeson could have bowled. Viljoen misses and the umpire calls it a wide
Gleeson on a hat-trick. Viljoen to face
two in two! The Sunrisers are all over the Super Kings like a rash! Back of a length outside off. Jones moves across his crease and whips it away nonchalantly. No power on it, though, nor the elevation and to the bigger boundary, that was always a huge risk. Easy catch for Dawson at deep backward square leg, and the crowd sense yet another win on home soil!
Jones to try his luck with the bat now
straight to long on! And the Sunrisers hammer another nail into the JSK coffin! Banged into the track outside off. This skips off the surface and gets big on Ferreira. Gets up near his back shoulder, meaning he cannot generate the power or the elevation he wants. Picks out Crawley to perfection and that could be the game right there!
The leg-side boundary is the bigger boundary for the right-hander from this end
slower short ball that follows Ferreira outside leg. He is too early into his swipe and the ball hits him on the ribs before bobbling towards the keeper
44 off 18. Gleeson to bowl. JSK need this to be a big over
Over 20 • JSK 151/8
Eastern Cape won by 14 runs