Coles' all-round show powers Sunrisers into SA20 playoffs

As Sunrisers Eastern Cape defeated Joburg Super Kings to become the first team in this SA20 to qualify for the playoffs, all-rounder James Coles performed admirably with both the bat and the ball. SEC posted a competitive 178 for 5 on a surface that offered grip when asked to bat first. Early momentum was provided by Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairstow. The left-hander went on to score a fluent half-century (54 off 37), which was his third of the season. Donovan Ferreira took two wickets in an over, dismissing Jordan Hermann (caught in the deep) and de Kock (lbw) as SEC reached 88 for 1 at the halfway point. That put Coles, a rookie, in the starting lineup to replace Tharindu Rathnayake, who was away on national duty. Coles and Tristan Stubbs were initially kept quiet, and after 16 overs, SEC was only 129 for 4. However, following the timeout, Coles decisively switched gears and engaged Richard Gleeson and Nandre Burger to establish regular boundaries. On a slow pitch, his half-century of 29 balls ensured that SEC finished strongly. JSK had a difficult task because no team had ever scored more than 165 at the stadium this season. After three overs, Rivaldo Moonsamy and James Vince had scored 30 runs without losing for the visitors. After that, Coles immediately made an impression with the ball, striking with his third delivery to end Moonsamy's innings and only allowing three runs in an over. Following tight spells from Adam Milne and Anrich Nortje, the powerplay ended with JSK on 39 for 1. Coles struck again, putting more pressure on Vince and leaving him baffled. Dian Forrester, Wiaan Mulder, and Michael Pepper were all bowled out in two overs by Senuran Muthusamy during the middle overs, giving him a score of 3 for 26. Matthew de Villiers's run out was in between his wickets. Milne, Marco Jansen, and Anrich Nortje cleaned up the tail after the fast bowlers finished, and JSK were bowled out for 117 in 18.1 overs, never seriously threatening the target. The victory, their fourth bonus-point win of the season, sent SEC to the top of the table, while JSK remained in the fourth spot. The result also ensured that Durban's Super Giants remained in contention.