Canterbury Kings 112-8 in 20 overs (Todd Astle 25, Blair Tickner 3-15, Seth Rance 2-19) lost to Central Stags (Tom Bruce 45*, Will Young 33, Kyle Jamieson 2-20) by six wickets at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
The Central Stags move to second on the BK Super Smash table after a comprehensive win over the Canterbury Kings at Hagely Oval.
The Stags were bolstered by BLACKCAPS pair Doug Bracewell and Seth Rance, and ran through the home side's line up, led by three wickets from Blair Tickner.
Under no pressure, the visitors' batters got home with over three overs to spare, despite the Kings fighting hard.
A superb bowling effort backed up by spectacular catching had the Kings under pressure early, which they struggled to recover from.
Dean Foxcroft caught Chad Bowes (6) in the second, and followed it up with a diving catch at point to remove Steven Murdoch for a duck the next over. Bracewell reeled in an Andy Ellis (1) pull shot with an equally spectacular effort, and the Kings were battling at 40-5 in the ninth.
Leo Carter (21), Todd Astle (25) and Kyle Jamieson (21) performed cautious resurrection at the close of the innings, but the damage had been done early as the Kings scrambled to 112-8.
The Stags were under no scoreboard pressure, but after George Worker, who got things underway with 21 from 15 went out, followed closely by Foxcroft (3), the Kings were getting on top and only looked a wicket away from roaring back into the contest.
Will Young (33) and Tom Bruce (45*) put on 57 for the third wicket to steady the chase. There was little urgency about the approach, and despite losing a couple of late wickets, the Stags always had plenty of time and wickets up their sleeve, and avoided any banana skins to take the win by six wickets.