KAT Israemploy won a thriller against Pommeranz Juice off the very last ball of the match in the Israel Night Cricket League.
Pommeranz's total of 123 featured some excellent batting, with Danny Verbov and Jeremy Kuttner sharing the highest partnership of 37. They capitalised on some wayward bowling as KAT conceded 40 runs in extras helped Pommeranz reach a score that, nine times out of 10, would have been defendable.
Just after the halfway stage of KAT's innings, where they were well behind the asking rate with a score of 44 after nine of the 16 overs and another 79 runs required off the remaining seven overs, it looked as if the game was done and dusted. But a brilliant counter-attack by first David Corre and David Berinson and then the last pair of Gras Jack and Ron Sher who put on 43 for the last four overs enabled KAT to come away with a win.
Pommeranz were left shocked as KAT chased down one of the highest scores of the season and will rue the missed opportunities - they dropped several catches and some very close umpiring decisions that could have gone either way.
For KAT, young Yonah Barnett put in a fine performance with two wickets and a personal score of 21, while for Pommeranz, Verbov will count himself as unlucky to be on the losing side after scoring 26 and taking two wickets.
In the evening's other match,debutant the Bet Shemesh Braves that consist of a mixture of adults and juniors caused a major upset as they beat KAT Israemploy - a team that finished third on the league table last season with six wins from nine games.
The youngsters bowled and fielded superbly, restricting their opponents to 37. The father and son combination of Daniel and Uriel Finkelstein shared six wickets, while Eli Corre took three wickets and Dan Barnett two.
Although wicketless, Eliav Raye showed some real potential with a fine display of controlled leg-spin bowling. For KAT, only Jack and Sher got to grips with the Braves bowling, scoring 35.
A solid opening stand of 18 by Daniel Raye and his younger son Eliav, set the Braves up for a remarkable win in their first game. Young Dan Barnett, batting in the fourth pair with captain Herschel Gutman, safely negotiated the last four overs of the game, taking the score to 62 as he batted out 21 of the last 24 balls bowled by the lively Jack and Sher to send his team mates home delighted at securing a win in their very first attempt.
This week's upcoming matches will see the winless Mumbai Challengers come up against the fast improving Modi'in Young Lions in what promises to be a very closely contested match. Mumbai have a second game against Yagod Morris Beee's and Beee's captain Joe Neppe will be urging his team to not slip to a fourth defeat in a row.
Ra'anana Raiders, captained by Israeli international Josh Evans, will be hoping to finish the night with three wins out of three, as they come up against the Bet Shemesh Braves in a match that will showcase the young talent that Israel Cricket is producing. Their second match of the night - against Brett Hickson's YMCA - is an interesting affair as much is expected from YMCA after there excellent showing last season where they finished fourth (six wins out of nine) in the league and picked up the silver medal in Division Two. Ra'anana Raiders pack some excellent junior players and an upset might be on the cards.
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