David Warner seems assured of selection for Australia in next month's first Ashes Test against England after blazing a record score of 197, his third century in four matches lifting NSW into the final of the one-day cup.
Warner was caught on the boundary seeking three runs he needed for the first-ever double century in the 45-year history of Australian domestic limited overs cricket.
His knock, which came off just 141 balls and included 20 fours and ten sixes, surpassed Queenslander Jimmy Maher's previous high of 187 achieved ten years ago in Brisbane.
The headline-grabbing opener is comfortably the leading run-scorer in the competition with 527 runs at an average of 75.
NSW reeled in Victoria's 9-321 with three balls to spare and the four-wicket win sets up a meeting with Queensland at the same North Sydney Oval venue on Sunday.
It was the second time in five days that a Warner century had helped the Blues chase down a big Victorian target, with the Blues winning by seven wickets on Sunday.
Warner and fellow opener Pete Nevill (46) put on 149 for the opening wicket to lay the foundation for the successful run chase.
He brought up his ton off just 75 balls and Victoria's attack, which included Test bowler Peter Siddle, was seemingly powerless to halt the left-hander.
Earlier, Victoria set NSW a challenging target as openers Dan Christian (117) and Rob Quiney (89) put on a 202-run opening stand, equalling the season-high set by NSW pair Warner and Nevill in Sunday's game.
Christian was in particularly devastating form, scoring his runs off just 90 deliveries and hitting seven sixes in the process.
Quiney was the first to fall and his exit brought about a slowing of the run-rate which at one stage was well in excess of seven runs an over.
Victoria's three top-order batsman went for the addition of only 25 runs, while the in-form David Hussey then fell to a stunning one-handed catch from paceman Gurinder Singh.
Victorian danger-man Cameron White was dropped early and was eventually caught on the boundary within sight of a sixth successive half-century, having made a typically robust 42 off 37 balls.
All-rounder Sean Abbott was the best of the NSW bowlers taking 3-53 to back up his man-of- the-match performance on Tuesday.
After opening the season with successive failures, Warner is revelling in his rich vein of form.
"It's all about routine and that changes everything," he said.
"For me it is about being at the crease with a clear mind, backing myself and realising that is what is working.
"In an ideal world for me personally it would have (been nice to get 200).
"But it is a team game and we had to try and reach the total and we did that which is all that matters.
"You never want to be the person that milks it for milestones."
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