Dumped T20 allrounder Marcus Stoinis has stood tall in the one-day cup, propelling Western Australia to a tense, rain-affected, nine-run win over Victoria.
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Stoinis delivered with both bat and ball as Victoria, chasing a revised target of 175 off 20 overs, fell short in the final over at the WACA Ground.
The win lifted WA to the top of the table with two games remaining.
Skipper Peter Handscomb (73no) built the platform for Victoria to get back into the contest after the visitors were left reeling at 4-32.
Handscomb was dropped twice during his impressive knock, while Nic Maddinson added a quickfire 28 from just nine balls.
Sam Harper (26) also came out with all guns blazing, hitting Jhye Richardson for consecutive ramp-shot sixes early in the innings.
But Test hopeful Will Pucovski fell for a second-ball duck and Marcus Harris and Glenn Maxwell barely fared better.
Stoinis proved the hero, snaring three wickets in quick succession to seize the momentum for WA in what effectively became a T20 contest.
Overlooked for Australia's upcoming series against Sri Lanka, Stoinis also scored 45 as Western Australia posted 9-281 from 42 overs.
Rain delayed the start of play and persistent showers disrupted both innings, forcing Victoria's target to be significantly revised.
Test discard Cameron Bancroft top-scored for WA with an assured 76 after struggling during the opening Sheffield Shield rounds.
Ashton Turner (39 off 27) and Shaun Marsh (30) also added valuable runs against a Victorian side that opted to rest their frontline pace attack of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Scott Boland and Chris Tremain.
National T20 skipper Aaron Finch was another notable omission for Victoria as he continued to recover from a side strain.
The Australian camp were confident however that he would be fit to play in Sunday's series-opener against Sri Lanka in Adelaide.
Australian Associated Press
