THE NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH: Two overs that bent fate

No one in Newlands that night could have predicted the storm about to break over the SA20 final.

Pretoria Capitals stood tall, one hand on the trophy, riding the brilliance of Dewald Brevis, the prodigy, the crowd’s heartbeat, unbeaten on 101 and looking hungry for more. Twenty runs in the last two overs? With Baby AB in that kind of mood, it felt inevitable. Sunrisers fans had already gone quiet; even hope seemed to be packing its bags.

But cricket… cricket loves drama.

THE 19TH OVER, JANSEN’S SILENCE BEFORE THE ROAR

Marco Jansen walked in with that tall, slow stride, the kind that hides chaos behind calm. The scoreboard glowed menacingly. The pressure was a monster, but his eyes said something else:

Not today.

Ball one: dot.

Ball two: another dot. A murmur rolls through the crowd.

Ball three: Brevis swings for the stars — and finds a fielder instead. A gasp. A silence. Then a roar like thunder. Brevis gone for a majestic 101.

Two balls later, Maharaj follows him. Wicket. Maiden. In a final.

The stadium realises what’s happening — momentum, that fickle creature, is sprinting across the field toward orange shirts.

THE 20TH OVER — NORTJE’S ICE‑COLD FINALE

Enter Anrich Nortje. A man with rockets for legs and lightning for arms.

Pretoria Capitals need a miracle to salvage their death overs. But Nortje? He deals in elimination, not miracles. Three runs. That’s all he concedes.

EVERY DELIVERY IS A DAGGER, EVERY DOT A STATEMENT:

This is our final too. The last ball thuds into the keeper’s gloves and for a moment, just a moment, time freezes.

Those 12 balls.

Three runs.

Two wickets.

A set centurion removed.

Twenty runs denied.

The Question That Echoes

WHEN THE DUST SETTLED AND THE STADIUM EXHALED, ONE QUESTION LINGERED LIKE SMOKE OVER THE OUTFIELD:

Did we just witness the greatest final-over turnaround in T20 history?

Two overs that changed the vibe. Two overs that changed the score. Two overs that might just have changed the game.