SA20 Winner: Sunrisers Eastern Cape are the inaugural SA20 Champions

SA20 Winner: The inaugural SA20 was a blockbuster hit. The 6-team franchise tournament saw its first winner and it is the Aiden Markram led Sunrisers Eastern Cape. The Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated Wayne Parnell’s Pretoria Capitals in the finals played at the Wanderer’s Stadium in Johannesburg.

SA20 Winner

The inaugural SA20 was a breakthrough event in South Africa franchise cricket history. Mzansi Super League didn’t garner the numbers that were expected from it, but SA20 was a different league altogether. One of the reasons for SA20’s popularity was the fact that the six teams playing in the tournament were owned by different IPL franchises.

The inaugural champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape are owned by IPL 2016 winners Sunrisers Hyderabad, MI Cape Town is owned by 5-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, Pretoria Capitals is owned by 2020 IPL finalists Delhi Capitals, Paarl Royals owned by 2008 IPL champions Rajasthan Royals, and Durban Super Giants owned by Lucknow Super Giants, one of the two new franchises in IPL.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape journey in SA20

SA20 winner Sunrisers Eastern Cape had a roller coaster of a ride throughout the season. They had a terrible start as they lost two on the trot and found themselves reeling right at the bottom of the points table. However, three wins on the bounce helped them elevate in the top of three of the points table and finally finished at number three with 4 wins, 5 losses and a no-result against their name.

They had their back against the walls in the semis against a strong Joburg Super Giants. However, Aiden Markram’s side prevailed the threat by defeating the Super Kings by 14 runs. Then came the big final against the table topper Pretoria Capitals. Eastern Cape won the toss and opted to field. Batting first, Capitals were bundled out for a mere 135 in 19.3 overs. Chasing the score, Eastern Cape got over the line