Playing in their fourth SA20 final, the Orange Army reclaimed the title they surrendered to MI Cape Town last season, sealing victory with four balls to spare and once again proving that finals cricket is very much their happy place.

After winning the toss, Sunrisers captain Tristan Stubbs had no hesitation in sending the Capitals in to bat – a decision that looked inspired for much of the evening.

The Capitals’ innings was almost entirely a one-man show, courtesy of a breathtaking knock from Dewald Brevis. The big-hitting right-hander smashed 101 off just 56 balls, peppering the boundary with eight fours and seven sixes in a defiant display under pressure.

Dewald Brevis. Photo: Cricinfo

Brevis found limited support, though. Bryce Parsons chipped in with 30 off 30 balls, while Sherfane Rutherford added a brisk 17 from 11, but no other Capitals batter managed more than four runs as wickets fell regularly around Brevis.

The Sunrisers bowling attack was ruthless. Marco Jansen was outstanding, claiming a sublime 3/10 in four overs, while Anrich Nortjé with 1/19 and Lutho Sipamla with 1/37 kept the squeeze on throughout the innings as the Capitals limped to 158/7.

The chase began shakily for the then two-time champions when England international Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a golden duck in the first over, caught by Shai Hope off Lungi Ngidi.

Matthew Breetzke. Photo: Cricinfo

A brief cameo of 18 off 15 from Quinton de Kock helped steady the ship, but it was the partnership between Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs that ultimately broke the back of the chase.

Breetzke anchored the innings superbly with an unbeaten 68 off 49 balls, while Stubbs delivered a true captain’s knock, smashing 63 off 41 as the pair guided the Sunrisers home in 19.4 overs.

For the Capitals, skipper Keshav Maharaj was the standout with the ball, finishing with 1/28 from his four overs.

Tristan Stubbs. Photo: Cricinfo

An emotional Stubbs, now one of only three players – alongside Jordan Hermann and Marco Jansen – to have won three SA20 titles, said calm execution and belief were key.

“So stoked, I can’t explain it. Don’t know what we did or how we did it,” Stubbs said.

“Me and Matty were calm, but probably panicking too. We know we bat well together and kept looking for that one over to swing momentum – it came in the 16th and we ran with it. Funny things happen under pressure.

“We’ve loved this month. It’s a great group, we plan really well, and Aidi (Adrian Birrell) manages things brilliantly. And the Orange Army backing us everywhere we go makes a massive difference.”

Individually, De Kock finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 390 runs in 11 innings at an average of 39.00, while Brevis was close behind with 370 runs at an impressive 41.11. This led to the Proteas wicketkeeper, De Kock, being named as the Player of the Series, while Brevis was the Player of the Match.

With the ball, Ottniel Baartman of the Paarl Royals topped the wicket charts with 20 wickets in nine innings at an average of 13.55, while Nortjé ended with 18 wickets in 11 matches at 15.77.

OFM Sport/Morgan Piek cvs