Better starts have turned things around for Sunrisers, says Markram

Captain Aiden Markram has credited his Sunrisers Eastern Cape team for getting off to more explosive starts, with the defending champions having turned their campaign around midway through the league stage of the SA20 competition.

After losing their first three games, the Sunrisers picked up two wins over Durban’s Super Giants last week. They won by six wickets in Gqeberha on Sunday (with 28 balls to spare), just two days after securing a 58-run victory in Durban.

The Eastern Cape side climbed to fourth place in the standings with 10 points, while the Super Giants were left flailing in last position with six points after winning just one of their five games thus far.

“With the bat we’ve been getting off to much better starts. The guys in the powerplay have been really good for us,” said Markram, who hit 31 not out to guide his team to victory at the weekend.

“And with the ball we’ve also been getting off to really good starts, so we’re managing to get in front of the game, whether it be batting or bowling, and I think that helps in T20 cricket.

“When you’re behind the game it normally takes something really special to change things around. But a lot of the conversations in the change room have been about not trying to do extraordinary things to change things around, and pretty much nail the basics and do the ordinary things really well.”

Sunrisers avoid panic

It had been key, according to Markram, not to put too much pressure on the Sunrisers players despite their poor start to the tournament.

Instead, he said they had focused on sticking to the basics and relying on their ability to put up a fight in challenging situations.

“The secret is probably not getting guys to become too desperate and too panicky, getting back to the things we’re able to do well and that gets us in the game,” the skipper said.

“As a team we know that once we’re in the game we tend to scrap pretty hard and fight our way to some good results, and that’s exactly what the guys have been doing.”

The Sunrisers will play their next match against the Pretoria Capitals in Gqeberha on Wednesday, as they look to build on their momentum, while the Super Giants will be desperate for a win against MI Cape Town in Durban on Tuesday in an attempt to keep their playoff hopes alive.