In a day of drama, intrigue and more explosive hitting at the Sano International Cricket Ground, three teams are left with a chance to make the JPL Grand Final tomorrow afternoon.

East Kanto Sunrisers arrived this morning with two wins from two and knowing that a win against North Kanto Lions would almost certainly be enough to book their place in the final, only for the game of the tournament to unfold. 

Batting first the Lions made a steady start as Kawshan Kulasooriya (49) and Ghufran Mir (28) but on 78 for the first wicket before the Sunrisers off-spinners wreaked havoc.

Ibby Takahashi (two for 28) started things off before Ash Thurgate took five for 28 to restrict the Lions to a very chasable 135 for eight. 

The defence started well for the Lions as Nikhil Pol was removed in the first over, but Abhishek Anand enjoyed himself to the tune of 51 from 45 balls but even with his dismissal the Sunrisers were in the box seat with ten runs needed from 11 balls with five wickets in hand. 

What happened next will go down in JPL history, as Zubair Khan bowled an incredible penultimate over, dismissing Tsuyoshi Takada with his second ball before effecting two run outs and only conceding four from the over. 

With seven needed off the final over, Reo Sakurano-Thomas started with a wide then dismissed Thurgate leaving the Sunrisers nine down. Two needed off the final ball Ben Ito-Davis (43) could not quite get it done leaving the scores tied and the points shared. 

That left the Sunrisers on five points and nervously watching the afternoon fixtures due to their bye in Round Four. 

Over on SICG at the same time the South Kanto Super Kings displayed their pedigree by registering a crushing win over the Kansai Chargers. 

Batting first Alester Kadowaki-Fleming made his mark on the tournament by striking 67* from 52 balls to help his team post 164 for eight. 

When Kiefer Yamamoto-Lake had dangerman Josh Brown caught for just 14, the belief surged through the Super Kings with Charlie Hinze strangling the scoring by taking two for eight from his four overs, while Kohei Kubota grabbed three for 22 to bowl the Chargers all out for 85 and register a win by 79 runs. 

Those results left West Kanto Hurricanes knowing they needed two wins to have any chance of making the final, but they came up against an angry Brown who whacked a 19-ball fifty on his way to 78 from 42 balls which helped the Chargers to 132 all out;  Janaka Sanjeewa starring with the ball in taking three for 10.

Makoto Taniyama then took centre stage, reminding everyone of his enduring class by taking four for 15 to bowl the Chargers to an 18-run victory.

That result meant that the Super Kings vs Lions contest on Ground Two became a virtual knockout, and in such situations the big players tend to stand up. 

Sabaorish Ravichandran hit a 27-ball 44 as the Super Kings posted 152 for eight despite four for 17 from Rizwan Khan. 

The captain then stepped up with the ball taking three for 21, just as the Lions were looking dangerous, to earn a 14-run win.

All that means that The Sunrisers remain top with five points, while the Chargers and Super Kings have four each. With the Sunrisers taking on the Chargers tomorrow morning, the winner will be guaranteed a place in the Final, while the Super Kings will join them if they can condemn the already eliminated Hurricanes to a fourth defeat.

Match Summaries: 

• North Kanto Lions, 135/8 (Kulasooriya 49, A. Thurgate 5/28), tied with East Kanto Sunrisers, 135/10 (Anand 51, Ito-Davis 43).
• South Kanto Super Kings, 164/8 (A. Kadowaki-Fleming 67*), beat Kansai Chargers, 85/9 (Kubota 3/22) by 79 runs.
• Kansai Chargers, 132/10  (Brown 78, Sanjeewa 3/10) beat West Kanto Hurricanes, 114/8 (Taniyama 4/15) by 18 runs.
• South Kanto Super Kings, 152/8 (Ravichandran 44, R. Khan 4/17), beat North Kanto Lions, 138/8 (Hiratsuka 31, Ravichandran 3/21) by 14 runs. 

Highlights:

• Sunrisers vs Lions
• Chargers vs Hurricanes