There were dramatic scenes at Sahara Oval St George's on Wednesday night as the Gestetner Diamond Eagles booked their place in the Standard Bank Pro20 series cricket final when they triumphed in a power-over shootout over the Chevrolet Warriors.

In an unbelievable match that will remembered for quite some time, the Eagles could only manage to tie the Warriors' paltry total of 97 in their regulation 20 overs. It was a spirited performance with the ball by the Warriors after they failed dismally with the bat having been put in by the Eagles.

As a result of the tie, the match was forced into a one-over per side showdown in which each side chose three batsmen and one bowler. Dillon du Preez and Ryan Bailey opened their shoulders and scored 16 off Rusty Theron's over, including two straight sixes.

The Warriors, in the form of Robin Peterson, Davy Jacobs and Craig Thyssen, could only manage a disappointing five runs for the loss of one wicket in reply to hand the Eagles an 11-run win. The over was bowled by Jandre Coetzee, who had earlier taken three wickets for 19 runs.

But it was a competition best analysis of five wickets for 12 runs from CJ de Villiers that crippled the Warriors in their innings.

The homeside was an extreme disappointment with the bat after the commanding performance they produced in their second leg, 10-wicket victory on Monday night.

There was indecision in the Warriors top order and both openers Justin Kreusch (5) and Robin Peterson (0) got out to strokes they probably want to forget in a hurry. Both players fell to the wily bowling of De Villiers who is surely a prospect for national honours in the not-too-distant future.

In the pressure-filled environment of a deciding semifinal, partnerships are the key to success and there were none to speak of from the homeside as they capitulated rather meekly.

Ashwell Prince (24) and captain Davy Jacobs (20) gave it their best in a dire situation but their contributions were not good enough on the night.

Sapa

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