Heart-stopping action as Chevrolet Warriors clinch victory in semi final

It was rock star cricket at its very best on Friday night in Port Elizabeth when the Chevrolet Warriors took on the Nashua Cape Cobras in their first semi-final clash for the Standard Bank Pro20 series. 

In a game that kept the Axxess DSL St. George's crowd on the edge of their seats until the last over, the Chevrolet Warriors fought to defend their total of 149/3 against a Nashua Cape Cobras team who looked in much better nick than a week ago in the round-robin matches.  Batting first, the Chevrolet Warriors were off to a shaky start after Jon-Jon Smuts was bowled by Vernon Philander on 24, with Ashwell Prince following only one over later thanks to a magnificent one-handed diving catch by Richard Levi.  With the departure of Justin Kreusch in the tenth over, the Chevrolet Warriors were in trouble on 53/3 with nearly half of their innings already over.  It was at that time that captain Davy Jacobs stepped to the crease for the start of a fantastic partnership with on-form Colin Ingram. 

Ingram once again punished the bowlers for his quick 60 off 41 balls, while Jacobs also continued his good batting performance from the past two games by knocking a useful 42 off 32 balls.  Taking the Chevrolet Warriors to the end of their innings, Ingram and Jacobs scored 96 unbeaten runs at a rate of 9.14 per over to help their team to 149/3 at the end of their 20 overs.

The Chevrolet Warriors bowlers took the game in their hands at the start of the Nashua Cape Cobras' innings by removing opening batsman Andrew Puttick for three runs in the second over.  Succeeding to limit the Cobras to 67/4 by the tenth over, the Warriors looked well on track before Justin Kemp and Robin Peterson upset the flow of wickets by scoring 61 runs around the fifth wicket.  Removing Kemp in the 18^th over, the Chevrolet Warriors were set the task of defending 22 runs in the last two overs.  It was set to be a thriller when Garnett Kruger took up the ball for the second last over and while he bowled a stunner to get rid of Levi for 1 run, the Cobras did their best to catch up the remaining runs.

The pressure was on Rusty Theron once again as the Cobras needed only eight runs off the last over to take the match.  Picking up Philander's wicket on the second ball and effecting the run-out of Rory Kleinveldt on the second-last ball, Theron kept his cool to force the Cobras to score four runs on the last ball for a win.  By this time the crowd was in full song and their droning voices and clapping created an incredible atmosphere to urge the Chevrolet Warriors on to victory.  A final dot ball signaled the end for the Nashua Cape Cobras and a win for the Chevrolet Warriors by three runs. 

It was clear how much the victory meant to the players and the crowd as the team celebrated jubilantly and visibly acknowledged the supporters around the grounds.

The Chevrolet Warriors now lead the semi-final matches by one nil against the Nashua Cape Cobras with the Warriors' second semi-final against the Cobras taking place on Wednesday 3 March at Newlands in Cape Town. 

If the Chevrolet Warriors win the match on Wednesday they will be in the final, while a win for the Nashua Cape Cobras would mean that the third semi-final match will be played in Port Elizabeth on Monday 8 March to determine who will progress to the final.