With a few rounds left in the 2023 season, it’s coming down to the wire for some teams, as Round 11 brought many exciting finishes.

After a disappointing loss in the previous round, the Tigers beat the Chiba Sharks in a tense battle.

On a gloomy damp day, Sharks opener Marcus Thurgate carried the Sharks’ batting innings making 47 in tough conditions. Unfortunately for the team, no one could support him as the Tigers’ ruthless bowling attack ripped through the batting order. Tigers captain Sabaorish Ravichandran led from the front with stats of five for 16 bowling the Sharks out for 105 in the 34th over.

Setting aside a couple of early wickets, the majority of the Tigers chase looked to be in full control as the team was 95 for three with Anil Kumar (42) and Ravichandran (31) setting the tone. Things all changed when Hamid Bacha was called back into the attack and forced a massive Tigers collapse and they soon found themselves 100 for nine. Thankfully for the Tigers, number 11 Abhijith Sasikumar hit two fours to bring home a one-wicket victory by the barest of margins.

The Wyverns narrowly missed out on a bonus point win over the Tokyo Falcons over the weekend.

Wyverns started off with a bang, taking a wicket in the first ball of the game as Kohei Kubota’s ball crashed into the Falcons opener’s stumps. The Falcons had good starts from Abhishek Anand (30) and Sanket Pandhari (33) but neither was able to capitalize as the tight bowling from the Wyverns shone through. All bowlers took a wicket each with the previously mentioned Kubota, taking the best figures of three for 21 to bowl out the Falcons in the 31st over for 144.

In the chase, the Wyverns were in a comfortable position around the halfway mark at 101 for three as JCL’s leading run scorer Wataru Miyauchi was settled at the crease. When he fell at 47, the tables turned losing four consecutive wickets for not many runs hurting their bonus point chances. Fortunately, the eighth-wicket partnership stopped the bleeding to finish the chase off in the 34th over and winning by 3 wickets.

The Tokyo Rangers took care of the Tokyo Wombats with an impressive batting display.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Wombats got off to the dream start with their two opening stalwarts Alex Shirai-Patmore (32) and Richie Bracefield (63) combining for a 110-run partnership. However, things quickly turned when they both fell together and the Rangers gathered some momentum. A very valuable innings by Ken Dobson (62) helped boost the Wombats to a respectable total of 222 for seven after 40.

The Rangers had no fear in the chase as they took to the Wombats’ bowlers in devastating fashion. All five batters in the chase struck at over 100 strike rate with Mohammad Rana (53*) and Muhammad Ghufran Mir (41) top-scoring. The chase was over in the 26th over securing the bonus point seven-wicket win and keeping within the top four.

Sano squeezed past a shorthanded Max squad to leapfrog them into first place.

Winning the toss and batting first, Sano started great with an opening run partnership of 68 between Kazumasa Hiratsuka (62) and Chihaya Arakawa (18). Middle-order batters Shotaro Hiratsuka (31) and Kohei Wakita (29) chipped after the openers fell to secure a 40 over total of 173 for eight. Max’s bowlers did a great job of restricting Sano to an even bigger score after their start, Masato Morita the best of the lot with figures of three for 21 off seven. 

Chasing a niggly total, Max’s batters established themselves and made starts with four batters getting into the 20s. However, they could not capitalize due to the uneasy bowling attack Sano have. Four bowlers chipped in for wickets but it was the experienced legspinner Munir Ahmad with very economical stats of one for 24 off his eight overs that troubled Max. Munir also was involved in Max’s last wicket run out bowling out the team for 152 and winning by 24 runs.

The Alpha Quashers may be having a disappointing year, but after smashing the Paddy Foleys it  may bring some late-season momentum.

Although starting slow, things looked good early in Paddy Foleys’ batting innings, reaching 44 before their first loss. Despite that, after the first wicket fell, the Alpha Quashers’ bowlers turned it up a notch bowling the team out for 93 in the 22nd over. Three Quashers’ bowlers took a pair of wickets, including left-arm ortho Yash Wagh, with the outstanding stats of two for six off his four overs that was the biggest catalyst in the bowling innings.

The chase was over within a heartbeat as opener Srinivasanagaraju Pededa scored a rapid 42* striking at over 200 to bring it home for his team. The chase was completed in the ninth over losing a few wickets on the way. Regardless, a huge seven-wicket bonus point victory gives the Alpha Quashers their third win of the season.

POINTS TABLE: HERE