Vaughn van Jaarsveld slammed a career best unbeaten 93 to spearhead KwaZulu-Natal Inland to an emphatic victory by 52 runs over Border, clinching their place in the semifinals of the Africa Cup T20 next month.
They are the second team to qualify after Northerns won last weekend’s Pool A competition at Willowmoore.
Van Jaarsveld’s innings came off 60 balls with 10 fours and two sixes after KZN Inland were sent in to bat. He and Sarel Erwee took full advantage of the best batting conditions of the weekend to run up 76 in 8.4 overs before Border’s medium-pacer, Darryl Brown, took two wickets in his first two overs for just six runs, dismissing Erwee and Khaya Zondo (5).
Erwee contributed 35 off 26 balls, with seven fours, but after the slight hiccup, Van Jaarsveld and Kyle Nipper added 97 in 9.3 overs in an unbroken stand. Nipper ended on 30 off 27 balls as KZN Inland piled up 181.
The left-arm swing bowler, Attie Maposa, backed up the new ball attack well, taking 2-4 in his first two overs to leave Border 56-3 at the halfway stage of their innings. He went on to finish with a career-best 3-10 from his four overs.
In the dead-rubber game afterwards, North-West won by four wickets with a leg-bye off the last ball. The match swung radically in the closing stages after Boland had set a target of 168 to win, thanks to a fifty from Jean Marais and an unbeated 42 from Dewald Botha.
North-West looked to be cruising at 139-1, when a late flurry of wickets reined them in. Grant Mokoena was run out for 51 and Rassie van der Dussen was lbw for 74 off 57 as he tried to up the pace.
It took a huge six from Dwaine Pretorius to set up the thrilling end.
