So far, so orange: Sunrisers Eastern Cape and the colour of inevitability

For the fourth time in as many seasons, Sunrisers Eastern Cape reached the SA20 final. For the third time, they won it.

Their opponents at Newlands on Sunday were Pretoria Capitals, the same team they beat in the 2023 decider. This time, not even the burgeoning genius of Dewald Brevis could stop them.

Brevis slapped Lutho Sipamla over square leg for six in the 18th over. He removed his helmet, raised his bat to the sky, and knelt in contemplation. The seriously religious Brevis appeared to be thanking a higher power for a glittering innings.

His hoist off Sipamla took him to a century off 53 balls. He was out three balls later, caught by Quinton de Kock off Marco Jansen. His 101 came at a strike rate of 180.35, with nearly two-thirds of his runs in boundaries.

His batting was sublime—a mix of touch, torque, power, and precision. It explained why Pretoria Capitals shelled out USD 940,000 for his services.

After a slow start to the tournament, Brevis found form at the perfect time. His 47-ball 53 helped Pretoria resurrect themselves against Joburg Super Kings, and his unbeaten 75 off 38 secured a win over Eastern Cape in the qualifier.

A measure of Brevis' importance was that Pretoria scored just three runs off the nine balls after he was dismissed. Marco Jansen bowled an immaculate 18th over, and Anrich Nortje limited the damage in the final over.

Eastern Cape's reply began shakily when Lungi Ngidi dismissed Jonny Bairstow with the fourth delivery. They slid to 39/2 when Quinton de Kock was caught off Lizaad Williams. Roston Chase and Keshav Maharaj tightened the screws, reducing Eastern Cape to 48/4 in the ninth over.

Then, Tristan Stubbs joined Matthew Breetzke. They put on an unbroken 114-run partnership to win the match. Stubbs' 41-ball 63 not out was his first T20 half-century in 52 innings. Breetzke's unbeaten 68 off 49 showcased his quality and temperament.

The match turned in the 18th over when Gideon Peters conceded 21 runs, including a free-hit that Breetzke smashed for six over long-on.

Nine runs were needed off the final over, bowled by Bryce Parsons. Stubbs sealed the win by launching the first two balls for six over midwicket and square leg.

So far, so orange. The only exception in SA20 history was last February at the Wanderers, when Mumbai Indians Cape Town won the final. Their opponents? The orange agents, of course.

The orange army poured through Newlands' gates on Sunday. One fan in an orange shirt said, "I live in Cape Town. They were handing the shirts out for free. We could choose between these and the Pretoria shirts, and, well…"

He didn't need to finish. Why support Pretoria when you could shout for Eastern Cape? Even if you didn't care who won, it was better to be in orange than in blue.

In the SA20's universe, orange wins more often than not.