The Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs earned a bonus point to boot with tries from Jean Cook, Francois Venter, Boom Prinsloo and Carl Wegner, while flyhalf Joe Pietersen kicked three penalties and two conversions.
The Sharks, who trailed 20-16 at halftime in Durban, stayed in the game via the boot of flyhalf Pat Lambie as he kicked 19 points to go with the opening try for his side, before winger Lwazi Mvovo scored late on to set-up a grandstand finish.
The home side bombarded the Cheetahs line in the final five minutes and thought they had their third try when loose-forward Marcell Coetzee bulldozed his way over the line, but was adjudged to have lost the ball forward in the act of scoring.
The Cheetahs, who had the most pourous defence in Super Rugby in 2014 and have had a problem closing out matches in the last few seasons, held on for a famous win against the most fancied of the South African sides in this year’s competition.
(Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Alan Baldwin)
