A sensational 145-run stand for the 10th wicket between Rudi Second and Corne Dry turned the Sunfoil Series match between the Knights and the Warriors on its head, leaving the Warriors with a tough final day ahead of them at Chevrolet Park.
The pair came together with the Knights on 256 for nine and still trailing by 18 runs, and took just 18 overs to earn the home side a 127-run lead as Second finished with 180 to his name.
Johan van der Wath then grabbed a couple of wickets as the Warriors were reduced to 25 for three in their second innings before bad light brought a premature end to the day.
The partnership between Second and Dry took the Warriors by surprise after they had taken six wickets for 22 runs to bowl their way back into the match.
Second and Obus Pienaar pushed the Knights score along from their overnight 165 for three to 234 for three, but then Pienaar was caught for 48 off the bowling of Basheeru-Deen Walters to spark a mammoth collapse.
Second and Dry elected to fight fire with fire, and responded with an outrageous partnership in which they scored at more than eight to the over.
Even Second, who is known as one of the more cautious batsmen in the competition, hit nine sixes - including three in a row off Andrew Birch.
David White finally brought the innings to an end by dismissing Second on the stroke of tea, leaving Dry unbeaten on 43.
Van der Wath backed them up by striking in his third and fifth overs, before Dry grabbed the wicket of Ashwell Prince to cap a memorable day for the Knights, who have given themselves a chance of pulling off victory on the final day.
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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