Centuries by Stephen Cook and Reeza Hendricks outdid tons by Andrew Puttick and Zubayr Hamza as the bizhub Highveld Lions ended the season on a high by ousting the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras by nine wickets in their final match in Potchefstroom on Sunday.
All four completed their hundreds on the final day, with the two visiting batsmen helping their side, who resumed overnight on 106 for one, to post 364 for three declared.
That left the home side a target of 257 in a little over 40 overs at Senwes Park and they took the game to the Cape side with an entertaining late-match chase that helped take them to a first triumph of the season.
It was first the turn of Puttick and Hamza – the former hitting 116 (241 balls, 11 fours) and the latter 121 (182 balls, 18 fours, 2 sixes) – as they scored their 27th and ninth career centuries respectively. The pair added a record 213 second wicket partnership for the Cobras against the Lions that enabled the visitors to declare on 364 for three.
It meant the Capetonians needed to bowl out their opponents to have a chance of winning the title. But things turned completely against them as they found Cook and Hendricks in no mood to scratch around.
The pair added a franchise record of 226 in 37.1 overs for the opening wicket.
Captain Cook was the main aggressor with 116 (106 balls, 14 fours), while Hendricks top-scored with an unbeaten 119 (124 balls, 18 fours) as the Lions reached their target in exactly 40 overs.