Sunrisers Eastern Cape hero Roelof van der Merwe believes they came close to playing the perfect game against Durban's Super Giants on Sunday evening.
The Dutch international said the team is beginning to gel as the SA20 heads towards the business end.
Van der Merwe and his teammates will attempt to ramp it up again when they face the Paarl Royals in Gqeberha on Tuesday (1.30pm).
The 37-year-old “Bulldog” will be up for the fight after striking down six of the Super Giants batsmen while conceding just 20 runs from his four overs on Sunday.
Those were the best bowling figures of the tournament so far and helped his side to a convincing 124-run bonus point victory over the Super Giants. He also became the tournament's leading wicket-taker with 12 from five games.
Losing the toss for a second time, many would have thought they were going to see a repeat of the batting performance against the Joburg Super Kings on Saturday, where the SEC were skittled for 127.
However, in a total turnaround from 24 hours earlier, the men in orange started like a house on fire, openers Adam Rossington (72 runs off 30 balls) and Jordan Hermann (59 off 44) laying the foundation.
Skipper Aiden Markram (44 off 34) and later Tristan Stubbs (27 off 13) picked up the baton and helped their side post 210-2, the third-highest total in the tournament.
In pursuit of the huge target, the Super Giants never got out of first gear, losing wickets at regular intervals as Van der Merwe terrorised the Quinton de Kock-led side.
While Van der Merwe was pleased with his performance, he felt the result, from a team perspective, was more important than any individual accolades.
“We always talk about playing that perfect game, and this is the closest we have been to that in the competition.
“We are still finding each other, finding our rhythms, and how we play together, I think we are getting closer to that perfect mix with every game, we are learning about each other, how we are going to play, and how we want to win games,” the left-arm spinner said.
Being asked to bat first after losing the toss for a second time was a great way to formulate their strategy in that scenario, Van der Merwe said.
“It is just about adapting your thinking to what is a competitive score. Scoring 127 yesterday [Saturday], I thought we were way short, but [if we scored] another eight runs [things could have been different],” he added.
Van der Merwe said the superb support at St George's Park has given Sunrisers' players an extra boost of confidence, and he hopes they can give their home fans a few more wins to shout about as they enter the final straight.
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