Silverton has made its mark on the DDCA Turf 2 competition as the Bakers defeated HSD in the opening round to win by 36 runs.
The Turf 2 challengers posted a strong score of 225 at Springvale Reserve, before bowling out the Cobras for 189.
Silverton captain Robert North (64) and Anmol Zakhmi (71) ventured to the crease to bat first after losing the toss.
The pair batted beautifully together, North playing more of an anchor role while Zakhmi punished everything.
They put on a 119-run partnership before HSD bowler Sakuntha Liyanage got the breakthrough, followed by a couple of wickets from Luke Grady.
Kevin Seth (3/50), Grady (3/41) and Liyanage (2/45) were the best performers with the ball for HSD.
With 225 to chase, there wasn’t too much time to get yourself in for the Cobras top order and while they all got starts, Rohit Sandhu removed the top three to finish with figures of 3/27 off nine overs.
Anuda Akmeemana (38) offered some resistance for HSD, but they were ultimately bowled out as Varinder Virk and Kalapu Gamage took two wickets apiece.
In other games, Lyndale knocked off North Dandenong in a game where 520 runs were scored at Lois Twohig Reserve.
It was a consistent batting performance from Lyndale, who posted 9/283 batting first thanks to strong scores from Rajika Fernando (59 not out), Satnam Singh (49) and Himesh Don (42).
While it appeared Lyndale was well in control, some late order firepower from North Dandenong gave the Maroons a pulse.
Muhammad Khan (60) and Masih Rawani (33 not out) sparked some belief in the chase, but the team was bowled out 46 runs short of Lyndale’s target.
Parkfield defeated Coomoora in a thrilling match which went down to the last over, after a dramatic collapse saw the Blues win by five runs.
They were cruising at 2/144 in the 37th over of the game, and it looked like Coomoora was home.
At the beginning of the final over, the equation was seven runs required for victory and they had three wickets in hand – being bowled out was a very faint possibility.
Parkfield captain Dishan Malalasekera was the hero, not only did he score 92 with the bat and take five wickets – he took three wickets in the space of four balls in the 45th over – yes, you read that correctly.
Narre Warren was too good for Cranbourne in the opening round of Turf 2 as Hennadige Fernando (48 and 4/27) guided his side home to victory.
The Magpies always backed themselves to chase Cranbourne’s first innings total of 7/166, and that they did.
TURF 2 RESULTS
R1 Results: Lyndale 9/283 def North Dandenong 237, Silverton 225 def HSD 189, Parkfield 7/183 def Coomoora 178, Narre Warren 6/169 def Cranbourne 7/166.
Ladder: Parkfield, Lyndale, Silverton, Narre Warren 6, Cranbourne, HSD, North Dandenong, Coomoora 0.
R2 Fixture (two-dayers): Narre Warren v Silverton at Sweeney Recreation Reserve, Lyndale v Coomoora at BJ Powell Reserve, Parkfield v North Dandenong at Parkfield Reserve, HSD v Cranbourne at K.M Reedy Recreation Reserve.
