Matthew Breetzke: Sunrisers Eastern Cape's SA20 final win silences the doubters

Unheralded Sunrisers Eastern Cape batter Matthew Breetzke described winning the Betway SA20 as "special" after the Gqeberha-based team beat the Pretoria Capitals by six wickets to claim their third title in four seasons.

Going into the final, Breetzke was by no means the form player, while Tristan Stubbs’ numbers were arguably worse. However, under immense pressure at Newlands on Sunday, it was this duo that stood out, digging in to take the Sunrisers over the line.

Both batters showed great determination, rotating the strike consistently and running hard between the wickets as they struggled to find boundaries for a large part of the chase.

Impressively, the pair trusted themselves to get whatever runs were required at the back end. They put a high price on their wickets and took the game as deep as possible.

Breetzke finished unbeaten on 68 off 49 deliveries — a knock including five fours and two sixes — while captain Stubbs hammered 63 not out, including two fours and four sixes.

The two put together an unbroken 114-run stand for the third wicket, playing the decisive hand in securing the Sunrisers' third SA20 trophy.

"I know a lot of people were doubting us," Breetzke said after winning the championship.

"It feels really special. I am going to celebrate extremely hard tonight."

As the fourth season of the SA20 concludes, the Sunrisers continue to set the bar high, having reached four finals in four seasons despite lacking a star-studded roster relative to other teams in the tournament.

SCOREBOARD

Pretoria Capitals 158/7

Dewald Brevis 101, Bryce Parsons 30; Marco Jansen 3/10, Anrich Nortje 1/19

Sunrisers Eastern Cape 162/4

Matthew Breetzke 68*, Tristan Stubbs 63*; Keshav Maharaj 1/23

SEC won by six wickets