• De Kock, Bairstow blast Sunrisers to victory

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    Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow propelled the Sunrisers Eastern Cape to a 10-wicket win over the Pretoria Capitals at Centurion on Monday.

    It propelled Tristan Stubbs’ side back to the top of the table with 17 points.

    Needing 177 to win, De Kock (79* off 41 balls; five fours, six sixes) and Bairstow (85* off 44 balls; eight fours, six sixes) were in a rampant mood as they dispatched the Capitals’ bowlers to all parts of Centurion.

    De Kock dominated the powerplay, striking the ball sweetly over the cover region for a couple of sixes off Lungi Ngidi. He later dished out similar treatment to Lizaad Williams as the Sunrisers took control.

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    Bairstow was initially content to watch De Kock take on the Capitals’ bowlers, but he soon switched gears when spinner Keshav Maharaj brought himself on in search of the breakthrough.

    The former England World Cup winner treated Maharaj with disdain as he blasted five sixes and a four in the 12th over to smash 34 runs, the most expensive over in SA20 history.

    The Sunrisers had earlier delivered a clinical bowling and catching display to limit the Capitals to 176-7.

    Although new opener Connor Esterhuizen (52 off 33 balls) and middle-order smasher Sherfane Rutherford (47* off 22) bookended the innings, the Sunrisers never loosened their grip.

    Anrich Nortje lit up his former home ground with thunderbolts in excess of 150km/h to claim 3-32, while Lewis Gregory was metronomical to finish with 1-18 off his four overs.

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    Adam Milne was also able to absorb a 22-run penultimate over to claim 2-36, which included the big wicket of Capitals new West Indian recruit Andre Russell.

    It was courtesy of a spellbinding one-handed diving catch from Man of the Match De Kock, which underlined the Sunrisers’ supremacy on the night.

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    Simon Borchardt