Sunrisers Eastern Cape captain Aiden Markram produced a masterful century as he steered his side to a memorable 14 run win over the Joburg Super Kings in their Betway SA20 semi-final at Centurion on Thursday night.
The Sunrisers made a daunting 213/5 in their 20 overs and in reply held the Super Kings to 199/6 to win by 14 runs.
Having been sent in to bat first, Markram strode to the wicket with his side in dire straits at 10/2 but 58 balls and 100 runs later he had turned his team's fortunes around.
The Sunrisers completed their 20 overs on a mammoth 213/5 with a staggering 27 runs coming off a shell-shocked Gerald Coetzee's final over.
In reply, Super Kings captain Faf du Plessis fell to Sisanda Magala for a first ball duck - and with Leus du Plooy also falling without scoring in the next over it appeared to be a lost cause at 1/2.
Full credit to the Super Kings because they came back hard and man of the match Markram admitted there were a few anxious moments at the end.
However, the men in orange held their nerve as they restricted the Super Kings to 199/6 in their 20 overs, despite the best efforts of Reeza Hendricks who clubbed 96 off 54 deliveries.
Markram said the Sunrisers will enjoy the moment this evening and then rest up on Friday before turning their attention to Saturday's final against the Pretoria Capitals at a sold out Wanderers Stadium.
The final between the runaway log-leaders the Capitals and the Sunrisers, who finished 3rd on the table, starts at 16h30 on Saturday and will be live on Supersport.
