The Pretoria Capitals needed a victory, as they had a solitary one against their name.
The 14th match of the SA20 2025-26 saw Pretoria Capitals take on Sunrisers Eastern Cape in a high intensity clash. The Capitals won the toss and chose to bat first, ultimately getting to 177/7 at the end of their 20 overs. Though they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, the hosts did not let the scoring rate come down. Here are the PC vs SEC highlights from the game.
The innings started with Bryce Parsons and Connor Esterhuizen trying to break the shackles, but were kept quiet by some good bowling from the Sunrisers Eastern Cape. In the later half of the innings, it was a splurge from Sherfane Rutherford which got them to a competitive total.
Anrich Nortje was the pick of the bowlers from the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, as his spell of four overs ended with three wickets, conceding 32 runs in the bargain. The Tristan Stubbs-led side had a potent bowling attack, which helped them limit the Capitals to a score of 177/7.
Though the game was not a very high-scoring affair, it had everything to keep the cricketing fans interested. From stump rattlers to one handed catches inside and outside the boundary – here’s a sneak peek into the PC vs SEC highlights.
If we have a closer look at the scorecard, the Pretoria Capitals did not have the best of starts. Though Bryce Parsons slammed 14 runs off three balls off Lutho Sipamla, he had to walk back on the very next delivery of the same over having scored just 18 runs in 15 deliveries. In short, he could never get going.
To add to that, players like Shai Hope, Wihan Lubbe and Dewald Brevis could not do what they are known for, and were sent back cheaply. That being said, Connor Esterhuizen stood tall in the first half of the innings with a gritty half-century under his belt. His 52 off 33 balls gave PC the platform to launch later.
The came in Sherfane Rutherford at No.6. The West Indian batter immediately took on from where he left in the last game, and smashed an unbeaten 47 off just 22 deliveries. It was because of his late surge that the Capitals could gather 177 runs on the board. Andre Russell, who joined the team this game onwards also could not help a great deal.
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The South African pacer was the last to be brought into the attack, but had the maximum impact. He did not let the batters off the hook, and rattled them with his pace. Moreover, Nortje varied his lengths beautifully to create a doubts in the mind of the batters.
The 32-year-old Protea speedster got the better of players like Dewald Brevis and Connor Esterhuizen, which was extremely important for the visitors. Had any of the two batters continued to play, they would have taken the score past the 200-run mark.
Performances like these will give Nortje a lot of confidence ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup 2026. The team will soon be flying into the subcontinent for the mega-event.
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