The Sunrisers Eastern Cape will meet the Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 final at Newlands on Sunday after beating the Paarl Royals by seven wickets at the Wanderers.
The two-time champions comfortably chased down the Royals’ 113-7 with 50 balls to spare in the second playoff qualifier on Friday.
Young Englishman James Coles led the way with another superb all-round performance. Coles snared 1-15 from his four overs of off-spin before breaking the back of the run chase with an undefeated 45 off just 19 balls.
On a surface where precious few batsmen could counter the prodigious turn and bounce on offer, Coles targeted Dan Lawrence’s first over by smashing 21 runs to bite a chunk out of the target.
Coles shared an unbroken 65-run partnership with Matthew Breetzke (19*) to seal the Royals’ fate after Quinton de Kock has blitzed a rapid 25 off only 12 balls upfront.
The only way to send your team to the #BetwaySA20 final 🤩🌟
James Coles wins it in style for Sunrisers Eastern Cape 🟠#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/izya6dKTKV
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 23, 2026
The 21-year-old had earlier combined perfectly with Senuran Muthusamy (3-15) to set up the game for Sunrisers.
The spin twins claimed four wickets for 30 runs from their allotted eight overs to restrict the Royals.
It was a struggle from the outset for the Royals after stand-in captain Dan Lawrence won the toss and elected to bat.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius could not build on his form from the eliminator and fell early when he chipped seamer Lutho Sipamla to Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Tristan Stubbs at mid-off.
From thereon it was a battle for survival with Kyle Verreynne laying down anchor as the wickets continued to fall regularly at the other end.
The Royals’ West Indian import Rovman Powell, who only arrived in South Africa a couple of days ago, could not make an impact as he lasted just two balls before Muthusamy found his outside edge.
HIGHLIGHTS: Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Paarl Royals
The Sunrisers’ seven-wicket win has set up a repeat of the inaugural SA20 final in 2023.
Adrian Birrell’s team will be seeking to reclaim the trophy they surrendered to MI Cape Town last season in a bid for a third title, while the Capitals will be aiming to win the trophy for the first time.
The two sides have met three times already this season with the Sunrisers holding the advantage 2-1.
Photo: Arjun Singh/Sportzpics
