It was one of the closest Twenty20 games in several seasons and it was RSL Colts who came out on top in the final of the MoneyQuest Megahit on Friday night.
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Facing off against the CYMS Cougars, RSL Colts' night got off to a good start when captain Marty Jeffrey won the toss and chose to bowl first which immediately proved the right decision.
CYMS opener Brock Larance fell for one before Riley Keen had Tom Barber caught behind for a duck as the Cougars were in trouble early at 2/7.
Jeffrey admitted the decision to bowl first was a brave one but a choice which ultimately was the right call looking back after the match as RSL Colts became the first time in a decade to win back-to-back Twenty20 competitions while ending CYMS' dream of a maiden title.
"We elected to bowl just based off that little bit of moisture still in the wicket and I thought later on it might harden up a tad," he said.
"I knew with the way the CYMS line-up looked that if we could get some key wickets at the top and break it open to have the middle-order playing against a newish ball then we could really squeeze through the middle to suffocate in the back sort of five overs.
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"It worked out perfectly really with the ball, Riley Keen bowled well up the top and so did Grant Malouf.
"Tom Nelson and Tom Coady batted really well in the middle to bring it back and put CYMS back on top.
"I thought our spinners bowled really well in the middle to crawl that back."
CYMS found some resistance in the form of Tom Nelson and Tom Coady who were strong during the middle overs as the Cougars finished their 20 overs with 7/126.
Keen took two wickets for his side as did Jeffrey while Wes Giddings also grabbed himself two wickets.
RSL Colts got off to a patient start in their run chase with Mitch Bower and Charlie Kempston being watchful early on in their innings'.
Both batsmen began to look comfortable until Bower was run out for 23 by Paddy Neslon which bought Jeffrey to the crease.
Kempston and his captain began to work the ball around No.1 Oval until the former was caught for 28 with RSL Colts needing 77 off the last 10 overs to win.
Jeffrey was gone soon after for 30 before Anthony Atlee strolled to the crease to hit a composed 21 not out as RSL Colts chased down the total with three balls remaining.
Larance was the pick of the Cougars bowlers, taking 4/28 from his four overs.
After the win, Jeffrey said it was pretty special to play in a final which was a close as Friday's match.
"It went down to the wire but it was just a great game to be a part of," he said.
"I love those big games and I guess it was good to come on top but it was definitely an all-round performance."
The RSL Colts skipper also praised the efforts of Kempston who was forced to play an uncharacteristic innings when his side was struggling to score in the first 10 overs.
"I guess you can look at his innings and say he did a lot of things wrong but at the end of the day he was still out there," he said.
"When you look at it, those gritty 20s and 30s when you are not quite seeing it or you are not quite on in big games then they are usually the ones that win it for you.
"Credit to him, he dug in there for a while and his plans may not have been right but he dug in and got the job done."
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