Dwayne Bravo bludgeoned a 34-ball 58 as Trinidad and Tobago thrashed Cape Cobras by seven wickets in the second semi-final and entered the final of the Champions League T20, in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Chasing a stiff 176 to set up a final with New South Wales Blues, Bravo and skipper Daren Ganga (44) produced a match-winning unbeaten 93-run stand for the third wicket to overhaul the target with four balls to spare at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium.
Earlier, electing to bat, Cape Cobras amassed a challenging 175 for five in 20 overs. J P Duminy (62 not out) and Herschelle Gibbs (42) were their top-scorers.
The match seemed evenly poised when Trinidad and Tobago lost three wickets at the half-way stage, but Bravo and Ganga batted fearlessly and took the match away from the South Africans, who were let down by some poor fielding.
Bravo's knock was laced with four fours and three sixes, while Ganga's unbeaten knock was studded with one four and two sixes.
The Caribbean side made a blazing start to their chase as William Perkins (20) and Adrian Barath (29) rattled up 53 in the first five overs.
Charl Langeveldt bowled two cheap overs upfront, but Monde Zondeki was expensive.
Barath creamed Zondeki for two fours and a six in his first over and Perkins smashed him for three boundaries in his second as the paceman ended up giving away 30 runs.
Rory Kleinvedlt, who replaced Zondeki, was welcomed with a four by Perkins and Barath got into action with a four and six before a terrible mix-up between the duo resulted in the run-out of Perkins.
Skipper Andrew Puttick introduced Duminy, who struck with the second ball, trapping Barath in front of the wickets.
The South African team was led down by poor fielding. Lendl Simmons (20) was dropped twice by Henry Davids, first off Claude Henderson, and a few balls later off Duminy.
Justin Ontong got rid of Simmons with the first ball of his spell when he had him caught by Kleinveldt at mid-wicket as the Caribbean side reached 85 at the half-way mark.
Skipper Daren and Bravo then put up that magnificent partnership to steer the side to yet another victory.
Earlier, Duminy scored a responsible unbeaten 62 to propel Cape Cobras to a competitive 175 for five.
Herschelle Gibbs, who had been struggling in the tournament, came to party, smashing a 27-ball 42 that provided the impetus to the South African innings. His knock comprised five fours and one shot over the ropes.
Ravi Rampaul, who bowled an exceptional final over, giving away just two runs, and Simmons (2 for 17) were the most successful bowlers for the Caribbean side.
Gibbs made his intent clear right from the onset when he lofted paceman Rampaul for an effortless six over extra cover.
Spinner Sherwin Ganga, who surprisingly started the proceedings, drew first blood when Puttick went for a pull, missed the line and found his timbers disturbed.
Davids came to the pitch and smacked a boundary off the third ball he faced from Sherwin.
The fireworks began as Gibbs showed little respect to Bravo, creaming him for 18 runs by hitting four smart on-side boundaries in the sixth over of the innings.
Ganga brought in Dave Mohammed and the left-arm spinner responded with the wicket of Davids (7), who was done in by a splendid catch by the bowler.
Gibbs survived a stumping chance off Kieron Pollard off the last ball of the eighth over but Pollard got his man as he bowled him with the first ball of his next over.
Rory Kleinveldt (21) came to the pitch and straightaway made an impact, hitting Navin Stewart and Pollard for huge sixes, but departed soon while attempting another big shot off Lendl Simmons.
Simmons struck again, removing Justin Ontong (7), who just two balls before got a life off Mohammed.
Duminy batted sensibly to see the team cross the 150-run mark. He plundered 20 runs in the 18th over from Bravo.
