Six Gun Grill Western Province may have unearthed a new star of South African cricket after Mihlali Mpongwana played a match-winning innings under extreme pressure to propel his team to a 74-run victory over the Gbets Rocks and into the Cricket SA One-Day Cup final against the Highveld Lions at Wanderers next Friday.
In a virtual semifinal against their Western Cape neighbours where the winner would walk away with all spoils at Boland Park, Western Province were reduced to 84/5 when Mpongwana walked out the crease and stroked a fluent 96 off 110 balls (5x4, 3x6) to set up WP's 246/8.
"It felt very good. I always feel like those moments are made for me. I took my opportunity to bat at No 6 and it worked out pretty well,
"I am really humbled to take my team over the line. Their is still one game left and I am really looking forward to the final," Mpongwana said.
It certainly helped the 22-year-old that he had the support of captain Wayne Parnell (44 off 42 balls) on the other side as the pair added 94 runs for the seventh wicket.
Parnell's return to form with the bat is certainly encouraging for Province ahead of the final next Thursday too.
Province's bowling attack has been good all season and with a competitive total to defend they were all over the Rocks from the outset.
In the absence of the injured Nandre Burger, Beuran Hendricks took on the responsibility of creating the initial breakthrough when he clean bowled the dangerous Janneman Malan for just one.
It was always going to be an uphill battle for the home side after they lost their Proteas star early on.
Leus de Plooy (57, 70 balls, 5x4) tried valiantly with a half-century and Clyde Fortuin contributed 31, but the speed of Tshepo Moreki (2/31) and the spin of Kyle Simmonds (2/37) and George Linde (3/23) decimated the Rocks middle-order as the hosts were bundled out for 172 in just 35.4 overs.
Moreki's dismissal of former Proteas middle-order batter Farhaan Behardien was also quite significant as the 39-year-old veteran was playing in his final professional match of his 18-year first-class career.
The match at Boland Park also saw the return of Proteas and Western Province batter Zubayr Hamza after serving a nine-month suspension for a doping violation.