The Cape Cobras’ first defeat of the season has blown the 4-Day Series title race wide open.
Coach Ashwell Prince’s manne have led the tournament for most of the season, but with two matches remaining that advantage has been cut to one and a half points.
On Thursday the Warriors needed just 97 runs to win at Newlands and they finished the job with six wickets in hand.
To rub salt in the Cobras’ wounds, the Highveld Lions won the Jukskei derby against the Titans to blow away the 20-point lead the Cape side had going into the match.
The Cobras were always fighting to stay in the match after scoring just 236 in their first innings before following that up with 306.
And as captain Dane Piedt’s bowling unit also failed to do the job in home conditions, the Warriors put the brakes on their title charge.
Piedt struck an early blow on Thursday when Lesiba Ngoepe became the fourth victim for the spinner, who finished with second-innings figures of 4/68.
But the hope they had with the visitors on 115/4 was quickly crushed by a match-winning partnership between Jon-Jon Smuts and Sinethemba Qeshile.
The pair scored 91 runs at 6.42 to the over as they finished the game in a further 14.1 overs.
Smuts scored an unbeaten 70, while 19-year-old Qeshile scored 50* to add to his first-innings 71 not out.