The Pretoria Capitals advanced to the inaugural SA20 final, with Rilee Rossouw and Eathan Bosch starring in a tense 29-run victory over the Paarl Royals in the first semi-final at the Wanderers.
After being inserted by the Royals, Rossouw held the Capitals' innings together with 56 off 41 balls as the table-toppers posted a competitive 153/8.
The surface was not conducive to fluent strokeplay, and Rossouw was forced to rein in his natural attacking game after Royals spinners Bjorn Fortuin (1/24) and Tabraiz Shamsi (2/19) got off to a good start.
During the middle period, Royals all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo (3/29) kept the pressure on, but Rossouw kept the scoreboard ticking with a few timely boundaries.
The game was evenly balanced at the break before opening bowler Bosch gave the Capitals the perfect start.
Bosch (2/22) removed England opener Jason Roy with his second delivery of the Royals innings. But then, in his next over, Bosch delivered arguably the moment of the match, clean bowling the in-form Jos Buttler (13).
The Royals were 13/2 at the time and faced an uphill battle from then on. The task became even more difficult when Rossouw used his golden arm to trap Eoin Morgan (17) on the cover boundary.
The Boland Park-based team had one last hope in the form of captain David Miller. Anything was possible while Miller was at the crease, especially when the equation was reduced to 30 runs off the final 12 balls with two wickets remaining.
However, the return of Anrich Nortje to the attack in the penultimate over saw Miller (31) caught on the square-leg boundary before the tournament's leading wicket-taker closed the match with a brilliant catch off Shamsi to set off the Capital's celebrations.
The Capitals now wait for the winner of the second semi-final between Joburg Super Kings and Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Centurion on Thursday to see who they will face in Saturday's showpiece at the Wanderers.