Sunrisers Eastern Cape hand Paarl Royals a one-sided win on their lowest ever SA20 score

Sunrisers Eastern Cape launched them SA20 2025-26 brutally campaign, crush Paarl Royals By 137 runs in the third match at Boland Park, Paarl on December 27, 2025. The defending champions put in a complete performance, setting up a huge total before demolishing the Royals for the lowest total in the history of the tournament.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape put up a strong score against Paarl Royals

After winning the toss, Sunrisers Eastern Cape chose to bat first on the Boland Park surface, which initially seemed true but always promised to help with disciplined seam bowling under lights. Their top order made full use of the new ball quinton de kock And Jonny Bairstow Exploded out of the blocks, the score crossed fifty inside the first five overs and immediately the Paarl attack came under pressure. The aggressive pace in the powerplay forced the Royals captain to make early changes to his bowlers, but the Sunrisers batsmen continued to target the shorter part of the ground and were punished a little less than the length.

The middle overs were handled with remarkable composure, as Sunrisers seamlessly shifted from all-out attack to calculated accumulation, ensuring wickets for the final edge at the death. Smart strike rotation and accurate boundary-hitting against spin in the final four overs took them to 186 for 4, which was well above par at Boland Park and which immediately exposed the weakness of the Royals’ batting card under scoreboard pressure.

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Paarl Royals reach record lowest total in SA20 history

Chasing 187, Paarl Royals needed a strong, risk-driven start, but their innings unraveled almost immediately in the face of the explosive burst of the new ball. Enrique Nortje And adam milneBoth fast bowlers hit heavy lengths at pace, extracting sharp bounce and seam movement, and the top order simply could not cope as the Royals were out at 15 for 4 inside the first four overs, Sharp edged drives, ill-timed pulls and indecisive strikes outside the off-stump became a pattern, with Sunrisers’ slip cordon and ring fielders exterminating every half-chance and deepening the crisis,

Royals’ hopes for respectability briefly halted as collapse accelerated asa tribe And kyle verrinHe was the only batsman to reach double figures, but once this partnership was broken the tail turned rapidly. Due to undercutting, the host team collapsed for 49 runs in just 11.5 overs. pretoria capitals‘His 52 against the same franchise in 2024 set a new lowest score in SA20 history and led Sunrisers to a massive 137-run win. The win not only cemented Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s reputation as the league’s premier bowling unit, but also highlighted how their pace battery can dictate entire campaigns by turning defendable scores into completely one-sided contests.

Top 5 lowest team totals in SA20

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