In the last round of 2022’s JCL Division One, a couple of important games were still to be played to decide position standings ahead of this week’s semi-finals.

There was everything to play for in the Men in Blue Vs Sano match as the winner would claim the last sport in the JCL final four. 

Sano’s bowling lineup was lethal despite having a depleted squad. Taking regular wickets, only Abhipray Dewan handled the bowlers with any conviction scoring 47. A critical 35-run 10th-wicket partnership between Vikash Ranjan and Vivek Singh helped the team to 147 before being bowled out. Kohei Wakita and Munir Ahmad were the best of the Sano bowlers taking three wickets each.

Defending 147, the Men in Blue’s bowlers came out with purpose squeezing runs from the top-order batsmen. Wickets came in a flurry after the first breakthrough, Souta Wada gave the team hope scoring a quick 39 before being dismissed leaving the Sano batsmen a lot more to do. Men in Blue’s 10th wicket partnership ended up being vital as they bowled out Sano for 118 thus progressing through to the Semi-Finals.

Rohit Kesari had himself a match-winning innings for the Alpha Quashers finishing their season off on a high note. Despite the incredible innings by Kesari, he would unfortunately fall one short of his century. His runs were much needed as wickets fell around him cheaply and only Augustine Jacob (44*) managed to help bump up the total to 183 after their 40 overs.

The Falcon’s chase got off to a terrible start with the top four getting out cheaply. A resurgent 81-run partnership between Sanket Panwar (46) and Kuldeep Bisht (29) got the team back on track. However, the Alpha Qushers’ bowlers were relentless, as all top five bowlers took regular wickets while restricting extras. The Falcons were all bowled out for 158 losing by 25 runs. Despite the loss, the Falcons still claimed fourth place in the standings so will be looking ahead to the upcoming semis.

In their first season of JCL Division One, the Tokyo Rangers remained undefeated finishing their last game with a 46-run win over the Rising Stars. Posting 187 in the first innings, no Rangers batters were able to push on to make a big score, Vinoth Kumar Takoor the best scoring 45. Bowling nine bowlers in the first inning, Abuhasnat Alam was the best taking three off his eight overs.

The Rising Stars had a good go at the total but ultimately fell short with Risitha Nimishka Karunarathna taking a season-high four wickets to bowl them out for 141. The Rangers take the top spot in this year’s JCL looking to be the favorites come semi-finals time this weekend.

The Tigers made easy work of Max with a big six-wicket bonus point win to secure second place in the standings. Opening bowler Pk Kumar led from the front by taking four wickets up top tearing through Max’s top order. After the start, Max never recovered from the horrible start being bowled out for 69 hoping for a miracle in the second innings. Tigers were not messing around as they chased down Max’s total in the 15th over, ending their last game on a high and in contrast leaving a season to forget for Max.