Otago had the life squeezed out of it yesterday and must now hope its entire twenty/20 campaign does not suffer the same fate.
The Volts were beaten by 30 runs in Auckland, getting to 157 for eight in pursuit of the Aces' 187 for two.
It was by no means a catastrophic defeat - there are still four games left, meaning up to 16 points - but Otago now has little room for error if it is to qualify for the HRV Cup final.
It was the Ronnie and Bruce show at the Colin Maiden Oval yesterday as a pair of Auckland left-arm spinners stymied Otago's run chase.
Bruce Martin and Roneel Hira epitomised the trend towards slow bowlers in twenty/20 cricket with match-winning spells.
Otago, having oddly and unsuccessfully elevated Neil Wagner to an opening spot, had reached 51 for one with relative ease when the innings fell apart.
Brendon McCullum (26) charged Martin in his first over, played all around the ball and was bowled.
Then, in Hira's first over, Jimmy Neesham spooned a catch to midwicket, and next ball Aaron Redmond offered a dolly straight back to Hira.
Talk about a game-changer.
Hira's double-wicket maiden left the Volts needing 134 runs from 75 balls, and when Craig Cumming edged to the keeper in Martin's next over, four wickets had fallen for five runs, and it was effectively game over.
Nathan McCullum (37 off 25) and Dimitri Mascarenhas (43 not out off 28) provided some honour to the defeat, combining in a partnership of 56 off 34 balls.
But the pressure is now on Otago, which plays Wellington in the capital tomorrow and then returns to Dunedin to host Canterbury and Auckland.
Yesterday's Auckland innings featured three good knocks - well, two good knocks and one nasty knock.
A handy but hardly intimidating total was built around the in-form Martin Guptill (65) and experienced Pakistani all-rounder Azhar Mahmood (79 not out).
But Auckland holidaymakers would have been wondering what might have been had feared pinch hitter Colin de Grandhomme not been forced to retire hurt.
De Grandhomme had reached 15 off seven balls and seemed poised to play the key role in taking the Aces' innings to the next level. But he did not pick up a loose full toss from Otago paceman James McMillan - few could - and the ball cannoned into his unprotected left forearm.
McMillan immediately offered a hand in apology but it was cold comfort for de Grandhomme, who left the field in search of ice, or the Aces, who had lost their biggest blaster.
Auckland had eased to 103 for one off 12 overs on the back of another good innings from Guptill. Days after his whirlwind century in Rangiora, the Black Caps opener raced to 50 in 37 balls, smiting legside sixes off McMillan and Mascarenhas, and two in one over off Nick Beard.
When Guptill fell, holing out to long on in Neesham's first over, Auckland's momentum rested on Mahmood's shoulders.
The wily campaigner went about his business in smooth and effective fashion, punishing the loose ball on his way to 50 off 36 balls, then finishing strongly to be 79 off 49 at the close.
Otago's bowlers lacked venom but Nathan McCullum and Mascarenhas both had tidy spells.
• Canterbury stayed on Auckland's tail with a 61-win over a listless Wellington at the Basin Reserve yesterday, APNZ reports.
Canterbury, thanks mainly to George Worker (45) andPeter Fulton (44), staggered to 151 for eight its 20 overs, but then bowled Wellington out for 90 with offspinner Rob Nicol taking four for 21.
