The 2025 SA20 is set for an epic conclusion with double defending champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and MI Cape Town meeting in the final on Saturday.
The iconic Wanderers in Johannesburg, which hosted the inaugural SA20 final, will once again provide the backdrop for the grand occasion, which is set to get underway at 5:30pm.
The Sunrisers have recovered from inconsistent performances during the league stage to hit peak form during the playoffs by winning both the eliminator playoff and second qualifier playoff to secure their third successive place in the SA20 showpiece.
MI Cape Town will be tasting the rarefied finals air for the first time after being the dominant side during the league stage with Rashid Khan’s team setting a new record of 35 points.
They maintained that momentum through to the first playoff qualifier where they breezed past the Paarl Royals on Tuesday to secure a straight passage to the final.
The Sunrisers have the benefit of having experienced the unique Bullring atmosphere before, when they lifted the SA20 trophy for the first time back in 2023.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Sunrisers captain Aiden Markram said. “Apparently it’s been sold out weeks ago already, so already the hype will be there. For players, that’s really cool. Not just myself, I think all the boys are really keen.
“We love playing in front of full stadiums and the atmosphere at Wanderers when it’s full is almost like no other. I’m looking forward to that. It’s always a special occasion – a final at Wanderers.”
MI Cape Town will be hoping to halt the Sunrisers’ bid to win a hat-trick of titles with captain Rashid Khan believing their amazing journey that started from the very bottom is destined to end in success.
“We were the team at the bottom for two years, now we’re the team at the top,” Rashid said. “We have been playing some amazing cricket for the last month.
“Yes, they have a good experience being finalists the last three years, but I think for us, we’ll be just focusing on playing good cricket and focusing on what we did great in the last month that got us here.
“The best thing is to beat the opposition team with your own skills, make sure whatever the challenge is, we accept that and do well in that.”
The final is shaping up as a battle between the MI Cape Town’s batting unit up against the potent Sunrisers Eastern Cape bowling attack.
MI Cape Town’s explosive opening pair of Rassie van der Dussen (second with 370 runs) and Ryan Rickelton (fourth with 303 runs) along with Dewald Brevis (ninth with 253 runs) are all among the top 10 run-getters in the competition.
The Sunrisers, meanwhile, have four bowlers in Marco Jansen (first with 17 wickets), Liam Dawson (fifth with 12 wickets), Richard Gleeson (seventh with 12 wickets ) and Ottneil Baartman (eighth with 11 wickets) among the top 10 wicket-takers.
“We’ll back our best options, our best bowlers, match-ups and things like that, and hopefully that can work and give us a shot at breaking that partnership,” Markram said. “But they’ve been finding ways to score big, whether the two of them fire or not.
“So, the whole batting lineup for them is doing really well and we’ll have to do some good planning for them. And ultimately on the night, if we can execute it, then I think we give ourselves a good shot.”
Photo: Shaun Roy/Sportzpics
