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Ross the boss promotes Redbacks title hopes

Alex Ross was a spectator as Adam Zampa torched the Bulls but stepped up to shepherd the tail to win a thrilling chase

West End Redbacks No.11 Gary Putland had a simple message for batting partner Alex Ross when he walked onto North Sydney Oval in the penultimate over of their match against Queensland.

It's all up to you.

Ross, 23, had helped bring South Australia to within 15 runs of their rain-reduced victory target of 275 when No.10 Tom Andrews was bowled with seven balls remaining.

Putland, with a List A batting average of 5.88, blocked out the final delivery of the penultimate over to leave Ross needing some lusty blows to grab a victory that had seemed unlikely at 5-132 in the 32nd over.

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Ross and Putland embrace after the winning runs // Getty

Facing veteran allrounder James Hopes, Ross smacked the first ball down the ground to long-on but declined the single and opted instead to try and finish the match himself.

His tactics paid off in spectacular style, with the right-hander blasting a six and three fours in consecutive deliveries to win the match with a ball remaining.

Match report: Redbacks prevail in Matador thriller

"Gary Putland came out and said, 'Don't let me get on strike' and I just went with that," Ross said after his career-best performance.

"The boys are just extremely excited to get another win on the board.

"Gary has been in that situation before with that (tied) Ryobi Cup final (in 2011-12) where he bowled that yorker to win the game.

"He was really good down the other end. I'm just speechless."

WATCH: Ross runs rampant to bring Redbacks home

Ross had earlier helped re-build South Australia's innings after towering Bulls quick Billy Stanlake had taken three wickets to have the Redbacks 4-70 in the 20th over.

He shared a 62-run stand with Callum Ferguson before he was joined at the wicket by young allrounder Adam Zampa for a partnership that changed the course of the match.

Zampa smashed two sixes and seven fours to reach his half-century from just 30 balls before he was dismissed for 61 from just 38 deliveries.

Quick Single: Ross slapped with dissent fine

Ross, who watched the fireworks from the other end, had calmly moved along to a half-century of his own and Zampa's dismissal meant it was time for him to launch.

"As you can see from the way Zamps bats, I didn't have to say too much," Ross said, who admitted to nerves in the final overs.

"He played an outstanding knock and really set up the win.

"I felt we had a chance. We had some powerful hitters to come in and we just had to make sure we were not out at the end to be a chance."

WATCH: Zampa whirlwind puts Redbacks back in the hunt

After brief cameos from Kane Richardson (7 off 4 balls) and Andrews (9 off 6), Ross faced up to former Australia player Hopes for an over that would produce his most memorable moment in a Redbacks shirt.

Having turned down a single from the first ball, Ross backed away and clubbed a full delivery straight down the ground and into the famous old fig tree at the northern end of North Sydney Oval.

He gave himself room again to the third and fourth balls of the over, pulling one to the fence at deep backward square leg and crunching the other past the cover fielder to the boundary to level the scores.

He then deftly glanced the winning boundary through backward point and received the rapturous applause of his teammates.

Queensland's Nathan Reardon, who top-scored with 87 from 97 balls, said the short boundaries at North Sydney Oval meant the Redbacks were always in with a chance.

"I think it was just a good game of cricket, really," Reardon said.

"I don't think we need to blame anyone or say we let it slip. Rossy played fantastically well at the end.

"We probably thought we had it, but when you're playing on a ground like that you know that the batting team is never out of the game.

"We knew going into the last over with 15 to get, you still had to bowl well because blokes, no matter where they bat, can hit the ball over the fence these days.

"He just happened to get some good shots away. That's cricket."

WATCH: Reardon's rear-guard to rescue Bulls innings

The Redbacks now sit second on the Matador Cup ladder, buoyed by two stunning come-from-behind wins against the Bulls today and Western Australia last Monday.

The inexperienced side, the only state not to have a member in Australia's squad for the postponed Test tour of Bangladesh, will now look to take their momentum into Wednesday's match against Tasmania in Blacktown.

"The vibe is great, it's been great all year," Ross said.

"The boys have worked really hard in the pre-season, which has been well documented in the media.

"We're just absolutely ready to go. Everyone is fit and firing so hopefully we can be real contenders in this tournament."

WATCH: Extended highlights of Queensland v South Australia