Jean-Paul Duminy admitted his unbeaten 99 from 52 balls was his most satisfying twenty20 knock after leading the Cape Cobras to a shock five-wicket win over Bangalore on Thursday night.
The Royal Challengers appeared to have victory in the bag after taking advantage of the Cobras' nerves in the field to post a formidable 180 for four from their 20 overs in a heaving Chinnaswamy stadium, but Duminy paced his innings to perfection to see his side home with two balls to spare.
The left-hander has been in similar situations for South Africa, most notably during their World Twenty20 semi-final defeat to Pakistan earlier this year, and was hugely satisfied to provide a matchwinning innings.
Asked where the innings rated among his performances, Duminy replied: " It was probably my best one, because I've been in the situation a few times now where it's up to me to finish the game for my time and I always end up second best. This is the first time that I've won the game so I'm very pleased with my performance.
"These pressure situations are never easy, but obviously having been through it before helped a lot. We talk a lot about staying calm in certain situations and backing ourselves and I think that's what got me over the line in the end."
Cobras captain Andrew Puttick conceded that his largely inexperienced side was overawed by the occasion at first, but felt this win will go a long way as they look to make a big impression on the tournament.
"It was the first game and I think there were a lot of nerves out there for our guys," he said afterwards.
"It was a ground we'd never really played at before and the lights are a bit different. I think we can put our poor fielding down to the occasion. There's a lot of work to be done before Saturday (when the Cobras play Otago), but I'm hugely satisfied.
"Obviously coming into the tournament we didn't really know what to expect, but this win will calm us down a lot and also brings the players together. It's massive for our team, and hopefully we can keep going."
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