Bet Shemesh Royals secured their first win of the season in dramatic fashion in a nail-biting Night Cricket match played in Modi'in on Saturday evening.
Gold Insurance B.S Lightning got off to a flyer, with an opening stand of 43, but were pegged back by tight bowling and excellent catches by the Royals, particularly by Natan Wigman and Ariel Finkelstein. Eli Shaw and Arieh Lewis both took two wickets in successive balls, as the Lightning were restricted to 73.
The Royals' reply was solid throughout, losing only two wickets overall, with the first of those not falling until the ninth over. Eventually they passed the Lightning total with the final ball of the penultimate over, following which Arieh Lewis, with captain Yoni Sidelsky watching from the non-striker's end, blocked out the entire last over to enable the Royals to record a famous maiden victory.
Royals captain Yonni Sidelsky said: "It was a tremendous team effort. Everyone played beautifully and everything went to plan.
"We implemented everything we have been working on, kept a cool and solid head, and it paid off."
Thursday evenings match sees KAT Israemploy Tigers who will be looking to kick-start their season with a win against the impressive Modi'in Young Lions, while Gold Insurance B.S Lightning hoping to overcome their recent loss by beating last years champions, Pearl Dental Cricket Club on Saturday evening.