Twitter Reactions: Marco Jansen’s all-round brilliance helps Sunrisers Eastern Cape to pick comfortable win over Paarl Royals

Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated Paarl Royals in the race to finish in the top two of the ongoing SA20 league. Batting first, the visitors seemed to be in trouble in the initial phase as opener Jordan Hermann’s strike rate was a massive concern while his partner Dawid Malan failed to get going. However, batting at number three, Tom Abell took control of the situation as the Somerset-born cricketer smashed 46 runs off 25 deliveries to bring back momentum.

However, the game completely went out of Paarl Royals’ hands when Marco Jansen marched his way into the middle. Batting at number four, the youngster decimated the hosts and played a blistering knock of 71* runs off just 31 deliveries. He hit boundaries for fun as the southpaw proved his calibre in the middle order as well. His captain Aiden Markram is also the leader of the South African team in T20Is, who might consider introducing the southpaw in the middle overs if required.

Meanwhile, Tristan Stubbs took care of the business towards the fag end of the innings as the 23-year-old made 22 runs off 10 deliveries. Courtesy of their brilliant batting display, the Sunrisers posted 208 runs on the board in the first innings. On the other hand, Paarl would be disappointed with their bowling efforts. The David Miller-led side started well but some of his decisions were questionable. Evan Jones and Lungi Ngidi leaked too many runs and that’s also a big concern ahead of the playoffs.

When it came to the chase, England skipper Jos Buttler played a brilliant knock of 64 runs off 45 deliveries. However, the opener barely got any support from the other batters. Jason Roy seemed to be in good touch while the middle order collapsed like a house of cards. Liam Dawson, Jansen and Beyers Swanepoel picked up two wickets each as Sunrisers won the match by 44 runs. 

Courtesy of the win, the Aiden Markram-led side now has 29 points from nine games and they are placed second on the table, while the Royals remain third with 22 points from the same number of games in the ongoing SA20 2024.

Here’s how Twitter reacted to SEC versus PR SA20 2024 game: