Durban's Super Giants or Sunrisers Eastern Cape - who are the favorites to win SA20 2024 final?
The SA20 2024 final is only a few hours away and there is already a wonderful narrative that has been etched. The second edition will either witness the defending champions, Sunrisers Eastern Cape, securing the title again and extending their invincibility or it will yield a new winner in the form of the Durban's Super Giants.
The overall season has been an enthralling affair, to say the least. Much like the majority of T20 tournaments, it is the two sides that have finished at the top of the standings who will face off in the final as well.
There was not much to separate the two sides at the end of the league stage campaign. The Aiden Markram-led Sunrisers side secured the top spot, just one point over the Keshav Maharaj-led Super Giants.
Both teams lost only a combined total of five matches coming into the SA20 2024 playoffs, and there was a considerable gap between the top two sides and the rest. The Paarl Royals and the Joburg Super Kings just about managed to secure qualification into the knockout stages and found themselves eliminated soon after.
It is fitting that the two most dominant sides of the competition are battling it out for the trophy, and on that note, let us take a look at which team is the favorite to win the SA20 2024 final between the Durban's Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape.
#1 Form
The Sunrisers Eastern Cape had a rocky start to the season after just claiming one point from their first two matches, including a loss against their upcoming opponents. However, since then, the defending champions have lost only one encounter, which came in the form of a narrow three-run defeat against the Pretoria Capitals.
As a result, Aiden Markram and company have won eight out of their last nine matches, and are also on a five-match winning streak.
The Durban's Super Giants, on the other hand, made a dominant start to the tournament with three wins on the trot. They suffered a minor slump in the middle with successive defeats, one of which came against the Sunrisers. However, they picked up momentum at the right time, winning four in a row in the latter stages and closed out the league stage with a freak defeat against the Joburg Super Kings.
They began the playoffs with a loss to the defending champions, but have earned the right to compete for the trophy, with a dominant win over the Joburg Super Kings at the second time of asking in the space of five days.
As a result, the Sunrisers Eastern Cape have an air of invincibility about them in the form of their winning streak, but to a degree, it also works against them, with the law of averages coming into the picture a bit.
#2 Squad strength
The bulk of the Supergiants' strength lies in their batting, particularly Heinrich Klaasen. Easily among the best T20 batters in the world regardless of the conditions, the wicket-keeper batter is the second leading run-scorer of the SA20 2024 edition with 447 runs in 12 innings.
Apart from Klaasen, the Super Giants also have Matthew Breetzke, who has had a stellar season. The opening batter has scored 398 runs in 12 innings, while the likes of Mulder and Smuts have also chipped in with vital contributions.
The bowling unit is led by Keshav Maharaj and Junior Dala, who have both claimed 13 wickets apiece. However, the interesting fact is that Dala has only played four matches in the tournament so far.
As far as the defending champions are concerned, they have the bowling unit to match their opponents' batting, which makes them their strength. Sunrisers' bowling unit is led by the leading wicket-taker so far in the form of Ottneil Baartman. The pacer has claimed 16 wickets in seven matches in the SA20 2024 and has the perfect ally in the form of Marco Jansen. The left-arm all-rounder is the third leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps in nine appearances.
In terms of batting strength, the Sunrisers have had different match-winners so far, with no consistent scorer in bulk. Their leading run scorer is Jordan Hermann with 253 runs in 10 innings, while the others have chipped in for the side's cause.
#3 Head to Head and venue record
The two sides have already faced each other three times in the SA20 2024 edition, where the Sunrisers have a slight advantage having won two encounters. They only faced each other once in the previous season, where the Aiden Markram-led side won.
The SA20 2024 final is scheduled to take place at the same venue, where Qualifier 1 took place between the Sunrisers and the Super Giants. As a result, both teams have played at the venue twice in the season so far, with the defending champions boasting an unbeaten record.
With a lot of the aforementioned factors going in favor of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, they arguably head into the SA20 2024 final as favorites. However, the Durban's Super Giants are not far off by any means, as their squad is rife with match-winners, and is capable of ousting the opponents and seizing crucial moments in the match.
Who will win the SA20 2024 final between the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the Durban's Super Giants?Let us know what you think.