MI Cape Town crush Sunrisers Eastern Cape to reach SA20 playoffs

Coasting to a convincing victory against title holders Sunrisers Eastern Cape on Wednesday night, MI Cape Town became the second team to qualify for the next round of the SA20 league, booking their place in the playoffs.

After finishing bottom of the table in the first two editions of the competition, MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan said they were delighted with their progress.

“We had a very tough couple of years as a team (in 2023 and 2024) so we just talked about having fun, getting the basics right, putting the effort in on the field and forgetting about the last two years,” said MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan.

“I feel the way everyone stood up and took responsibility [has been the difference].”

Chasing 108 runs to win at Newlands, the Cape Town side raced to a 10-wicket victory over the Sunrisers with 54 balls to spare.

Opening batters Ryan Rickelton (59 not out off 56) and Rassie van der Dussen (48 not out off 30) shared an unbroken 110-run partnership, needing no assistance from the rest of their line-up as they carried their team to within two points of log leaders Paarl Royals.

Sunrisers innings

Earlier, after being sent in to bat, just three of the Sunrisers players managed to reach double figures, with only opener David Bedingham (45) and all-rounder Andile Simelane (21) making valuable contributions.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada did much of the early damage, taking 2/14, and he was well backed by man-of-the-match Corbin Bosch, who returned career-best figures of 4/19 to keep the pressure on the Sunrisers as the visitors were bowled out for 107 runs in the 20th over of the innings.

“They (MI Cape Town) played really well, put us under pressure initially and we struggled to get away from that,” said Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram.

“It’s a day we want to forget – address it and move on from it quite quickly.”

While MI Cape Town and Paarl Royals were through to the knockout stages of the SA20 campaign, the third-placed Sunrisers were still locked in a battle with Joburg Super Kings and Pretoria Capitals for the remaining two spots.