A JAMEEL Qureshi boundary off the final ball to beat the defending champions - it was a moment which ensures Rugby Union will carry confidence and momentum into the Royal Hotel Cup finals.
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While both Rugby Union and Cavaliers, who are 17-time winners of the competition, had secured a spot in the quarter-finals prior to Friday's game, both sides were hungry for the win.
Qureshi has played a host of Twenty20 cricket during his career, plenty of it at representative level, but as he faced up to the final ball of Hugh Britton's over at Wade Park the pressure was certainly on.
He needed a boundary to ensure Rugby's victory. He provided.
Rugby skipper Ryan Peacock said while it was a tense finish - his side needed 13 runs off the final over to win - he never lost faith that Qureshi and Evan Jones who were at the crease could get the job done.
"I was getting pretty nervous towards the end, we left it pretty late. But it is T20 cricket, Imran was sitting next to me and I said 'If they can get it close to 10 off the last over, I think we can do it.' Ten off the last over in a T20 game is pretty doable, you see it happen a lot," he said.
"It was never out of the question that it was going to happen, I never thought we were going to lose, but I knew it was going to be close."
Before the thrilling finish, Cavaliers had made 5-144 after winning the toss and batting first.
Kaleb Cook did most of the damage, notching up his second half century of the competition this season with his 63 off 56 deliveries. His effort included four boundaries and a pair of sixes.
Fellow opener Bailey Ferguson scored 31 at a run-a-ball and Kyle Buckley's 12 off six deliveries late in the innings helped to boost Cavs' total.
Qureshi impressed with 2-19 off his four overs, nine of those runs having come off his final six deliveries, while Percy Raveneau took 2-27 off his four.
"I thought they were probably 20 under par the way the wicket was playing, it was a quick outfield and a short boundary as well on one side," Peacock said.
"They got away from us at the end though a little bit which was a bit disappointing, we could have been chasing 130."
Rugby got the chase off to a good start, Peacock the early aggressor as the visitors scored at 10 an over for the first four overs.
Peacock was then bowled by Mitch Black for 37 off 25. Imran Qureshi (32 off 43) and marquee man Max Hope (23 off 17) came and went, the pressure on both sides building.
"We ended up needing 27 off the last two overs and then 13 off the last over," Peacock said.
"We got two singles, a six, a single and then a four off the last ball to win. Evan hadn't connected with one, but absolutely smoked one to get that six."
Qureshi finished unbeaten on 33 off 22 deliveries and Jones was not out with 15 off 13. The win added to Rugby's success against Cavaliers in their most recent Bathurst Orange Inter District Cricket two-day match.
"It was probably one of the better wins I've been part of to be honest. Especially to win at Wade Park as well, it's not too often you beat any Orange side at Wade Park, let alone do it two games in a row," Peacock said.
Rugby will now meet Centrals in the qualifying finals, while Cavaliers will do battle with the side they beat in last season's decider - St Pat's Old Boys.
