The Sunrisers Eastern Cape beat the Pretoria Capitals by four wickets to claim the first-ever SA20 trophy.
The Pretoria Capitals travelled to enemy territory to play in a tournament final after dominating the SA20 at the top of the table.
The Wanderers stadium was packed to the rafters, and as I walked through the crowd talking to some of the fans, I found an interesting dynamic. Johannesburg Super Kings fans were split on whether to support their Jukskei rivals or the team from Eastern Cape that knocked their team out of the tournament.
An electrifying atmosphere is an understatement for the goosebumps I felt walking amongst a sea of cricket fans. We were starved of this for years, and the ambience was an incredible example that cricket is still alive and well in this country.
Roelof van der Merwe was fantastic with the ball. His 4-31 was pivotal to restricting the high-flying Pretoria Capitals.
Two wickets from Sisanda Magala and Ottniel Baartman were also crucial to their bowling performance.
Bowling first seemed to be the correct decision by captain Aiden Markram. At the innings break the Pretoria Capitals were 135 all out, Marco Jansen taking the final wicket.
The SEC chase was kickstarted by an incredible Adam Rossington half-century, including 4 fours and 5 sixes, despite losing partners in quick succession. The Orange Army lost their third wicket after just passing the 100-run mark, Rossington out on the first ball of the 11th over.
Markram was in great form and looked like he would take his team over the line, but he eas dismissed half-way through the 13th over after a 19-ball 26.
SEC lost a couple of wickets which made their lives slightly harder than expected, but Marco Jansen hit a four and six to claim the win with 22 balls remaining.