Paarl Royals (PR) and the Sunrisers Eastern Cape (SEC) played their first game of the ongoing SA20 2026 season today (December 27). The PR vs SEC Match No.3 got off to a steady start with SEC openers Quinton de Kock and Jonny Bairtstow scripting a solid 66-run opening stand.
While the Royals bowlers then managed to get a few wickets in quick succession and tipped the momentum back in their favour, Jordan Hermann’s late fifty with the bat propelled the Sunrisers to a solid score of 186/4 in 20 overs on a relatively difficult batting pitch.
Let’s take a look at the PR vs SEC match highlights at the Boland Park in Paarl.
The left-handed opener, who was in brilliant form during the recent India T20Is, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer which included a 90 and 65, once again looked on song in his new SA20 team. After plying his trade with the Durban’s Super Giants for the first three seasons, de Kock made a flamboyant debut for the SEC with a neat 24-ball 42.
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The Proteas youngster, who has evolved into a household name for his exploits in SA20, once again lived upto his reputation to kickstart the 2026 season with a stellar batting display. The 24-year-old smacked a blazing 28-ball 62, hitting at a blistering strike rate of 221.43, courtesy of five boundaries and four maximums.
Matthew Breetzke along with Jordan Hermann, registered a fiery 73-run stand towards the death overs. While Breetzke was eventually dismissed on the penultimate ball of the 19th over for a quickfire cameo of 23-ball 31, the Royals had a chance to dismiss him earlier in the 18th over but Rubin Herman squandered the opportunity.
Breetzke lobbed a delivery from Mujeeb to long off where Rubin Hermann took a diving catch and then signalled out with his fingers. However, the replays confirmed that Hermann had a brainfade moment as the ball had clearly bounced off his hand and onto the ground as the umpires ruled it not out.
Paarl never looked in the chase. They lost Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first over with reviews confirming an inside edge, and the collapse only accelerated from there. By the end of the powerplay they were 30/4, and after that it was basically damage control, except there was no control.
The innings had no partnerships, no settled batter, and too many attempted release shots against top pace. The chase ended with 49 balls still remaining, underlining how one-sided it was. It became the lowest total in SA20 history, and one of the heaviest beatdowns the league has seen.
SEC didn’t allow Paarl even a five-minute break.
Paarl Royals were basically beaten in the first six overs and finished off brutally after that. The pace trio of Janse, Nortje and Milne will be one to watch out for in the rest of SA20 2026.
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