Lions Lod and Ra'anana through to T20 final

Ra'anana and Lions Lod will extend their rivalry of recent seasons' one game further when they meet in the final of the Division 1 T20 tournament in Lod on Friday. Both teams, along with Sri Lanka Jerusalem finished level on points after the round-robin stage of the competition with six victories and one defeat, however the team from the capital missed out with an inferior net run rate despite a 47-run win over Young Ashdod on Saturday.

Ra'anana went into their last round robin match against Lions Lod on Friday in Lod knowing nothing but a win would give them any chance of a place in the final. Asked to bat first, Danny Hotz (55) and Josh Evans (55*) were both in sublime form once again, sharing a 94-run stand for the 2nd wicket and helping Ra'anana to a competitive score of 166 for three in their 20 overs. In reply, Lions were in early trouble against tidy new-ball bowling by Des Moss (three for 27) and Amitabh Trehan (one for 19), and when Steven Shein (two for 35) chipped in with the prize wicket of Eshkol Solomon (8) and removed the dangerous Shailesh Bangerra, the hosts were 60 for six half way through their overs and the game looked all but over as a contest. However Isaac Massil refused to throw in the towel, even with the run rate climbing to almost 15 an over with four overs left, clearing the boundary rope at will and almost pulling off a remarkable victory. He eventually finished not out on 76 but despite his heroic efforts, Lod closed their innings on 159 for 8, seven runs short.

Sri Lanka Jerusalem, who had defeated Ra'anana but lost to Lod earlier in the season, needed an emphatic win in their last league game against Young Ashdod in Ashdod to have any chance of making the final, with net run rate set to separate the top three teams. They won the game comfortably enough in the end, restricting the home team to 130 for seven in reply to their effort of 177, but the 47-run margin was not enough to lift them into the top two places.

In the weekends' other fixtures, in Lod on Saturday Sri Lanka Tel Aviv secured a fourth place finish with a convincing 94-run win over Lod Rangers, who finished their 20 overs on 109 for three in reply to the visitors' 203 for six. Ashdod A remained rooted to the bottom of the table without a win, losing to Neve Yonatan by by seven wickets after scoring just 103 for eight in Ashdod on Saturday.

Looking ahead to the final, Ra'anana captain Steven Shein is expecting another close game, "I think both teams are evenly balanced. They have a number of experienced as well as very dangerous players who can all turn a game on their own, we have a couple of batsmen in excellent form and also bowled reasonably well on Friday, so it should be a great final to end an excellent T20 tournament". Play starts at 13:30 at the Lod ground, alongside the city football stadium.