The Sunrisers Eastern Cape moved to the top of the SA20 log and dashed MI Cape Town’s playoff hopes with a seven-wicket win at St George’s Park on Sunday.
MICT required a bonus point victory to stay in contention, but now the final playoff place will be between the Joburg Super Kings and Durban’s Super Giants.
DSG’s hopes are hinging on JSK losing to the Paarl Royals at Boland Park on Monday.
The Royals can still overtake the Sunrisers at the top of the table should they beat JSK, but Adrian Birrell’s side have secured their place in the first playoff qualifier at Kingsmead on Wednesday as they can no longer finish outside the top two.
How they stand in #SA20 after #SECvMICT pic.twitter.com/uNK9JNawYU
— SA Cricket magazine (@SACricketmag) January 18, 2026
The seven-wicket victory was the perfect sendoff for the Orange Army as they had once again come out in their thousands for the fifth game in succession to support the local team.
They were not disappointed, with new Australian import Chris Green delivering an excellent performance with the ball on his Sunrisers debut. The off-spinner, who was born in South Africa, made the most of the spin friendly conditions to finish with 3-29.
He was ably supported by off-spinner James Coles (1-17) as the Sunrisers limited MICT to 148-6.
HIGHLIGHTS: Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs MI Cape Town
Reeza Hendricks was the cornerstone of MI Cape Town’s innings with an undefeated 70 off 44 balls (eight fours, one six) and George Linde struck a quick-fire 30 off 17 balls (four sixes), but they needed much more to push for the bonus-point win.
The Sunrisers’ chase centred around Quinton de Kock (56 off 49 balls; six fours, two sixes) once again with the in-form opener sharing a 109-run partnership for the second wicket with Matthew Breetzke (66 off 55 balls; eight fours).
Both departed with victory in sight to create tension all around the ground, but Jordan Hermann held his nerve to hit the winning runs off the penultimate ball of the match.
Photo: Richard Huggard/Sportzpics
