Joburg Super Kings suffered a heavy defeat as Sunrisers Eastern Cape confirmed their playoff qualification in the SA20 on Wednesday (January 31). Super Kings, riding on a high after a vital win over MI Cape Town, were shot out for just 78 as Sunrisers registered a facile win.
Even though Leus du Plooy hit a couple of boundaries to get going, Super Kings were dented as early as in the second over of the game. Skipper Faf du Plessis, who finally found form in the previous game with a 20-ball unbeaten 50, was dismissed for a four-ball duck. Next ball, Reeza Hendricks edged a delivery that moved away slightly to get caught at first slip as Daniel Worrall posed problems.
Wayne Madsen and du Plooy attempted to break free with a flurry of boundaries over the next two overs that saw Super Kings move to 32/2 before they suffered a stunning collapse. Sunrisers picked the key wicket of du Plooy and then Marco Jansen opened his account by removing Mooen Ali for a duck. Madsen was the only batter to put up a fight as he smashed 32 with the rest crumbling around him.
Super Kings lost their last five wickets for the addition of just 15 runs to get bowled out in the 16th over of the innings. Sunrisers, who were already in a great position to cement their spot, made use of this opportunity to get the job done. Dawid Malan was severe against Nandre Burger in particular, smashing him for five fours in the powerplay and even though the scoring rate dropped a bit post that period, Malan and Tom Abell helped the side get over the line with nine overs to spare.
Brief scores: Joburg Super Kings 78 in 15.2 overs (Wayne Madsen 32; Patrick Kruger 3/8, Daniel Worrall 3/20) lost to Sunrisers Eastern Cape 79/1 in 11 overs (Dawid Malan 40*, Tom Abell 26*) by 9 wickets