A six off the final ball of the match from Blackcaps seamer Trent Boult has given Northern Brave a stunning Super Smash victory over Canterbury Kings at Mt Maunganui.
Chasing 108 runs from their 20 overs, Boult smashed the innings last delivery - bowled by Canterbury's Ed Nuttall - over the midwicket boundary and sent Bay Oval into ecstasy, as the Brave snuck home for a one-wicket victory.
Winning the toss and fielding first, the Brave's bowling attack did their job, restricting Canterbury to 107 all out in just 17.2 overs.
Spinner Joe Walker was the pick of the Brave attack, taking 3/13 from four overs, and was supported by Boult (2/21), Ish Sodhi (2/22), Anurag Verma (2/26) and Brett Hampton (1/9).
Blackcaps batter Henry Nicholls stood tallest for Canterbury with 35 runs from 21 balls, including three fours and two sixes - but after him the Kings' next best score was just 15 to wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher.
But chasing less than a run-a-ball for victory, the Brave also struggled with the bat in their innings.
Katene Clarke (32 not out) lead the way with the bat, but struggled to find support from the rest of the order. After an opening partnership of 33 with Tim Seifert (15), the Brave lost regular wickets, and were 101/9 when Boult arrived at the crease to face a hat-trick ball from Nuttall.
Boult survived and took a single, before returning to the striker's end to plunder the winning runs and send his teammates into raptures.
Despite being hit for the final six, Nuttall was the pick of Canterbury's attack with 3/43 from his four overs, while Blackcaps Matt Henry and Todd Astle also impressed - both taking 1/8 from their respective spells.
The win sends the Brave to top of the Super Smash ladder, sitting with three wins and 14 points from their first five matches.
Canterbury meanwhile are second with three wins and 12 points, albeit with a game in hand on the table topping Brave.
