Neve Yonatan move top of Division 1; Lod beat Tel Aviv in thriller and Lions take Be'er Sheva derby honors

Neve Yonatan defeated Ashdod A in a league derby played in Ashdod on Saturday to move top of the Division 1 table, with Ra'anana and Lions Lod both held to draws, by Sri Lanka Tel Aviv and Sri Lanka Jerusalem respectively. In a Division 2 match Friday in Lod, Lod won a low-scoring match against Tel Aviv, who were dismissed for 124, by just one wicket.

Having restricted Ashdod A to 154, with Shamu Razpurker starring with five for 28, Neve Yonatan scored the required runs for the loss of just five wickets, collecting 10 bonus points in the process for reaching their target within 35 overs. In a match played Friday at Hadar Yosef, Ra'anana paid the price for delaying their declaration till the 43rd over, as Sri Lanka Tel Aviv, never in with a chance of reaching their 215-run target, finished their 37 overs nine wickets down on 147. Gal Matz (69) and Dovi Myers (42) were the top scorers on a pitch with little bounce which made scoring difficult, Menaka (five for 44) the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers before also helping his team to secure the draw with a very composed innings, finishing 50*. Lions Lod scored 215/9 in 44 overs batting first against Sri Lanka Jerusalem in Lod on Saturday, to which the visitors replied with 151 for eight.

In Divison 2 action, Tel Aviv, who won their opening game by just two runs, finished on the losing side of another thriller, this time against Lod in Lod on Friday. Stanley Perlman (68) played a loan hand for Tel Aviv as they stumbled to 124 batting first, whilst Lod only faired marginally better in their innings, winning with just one wicket in hand. Lions Be'er Sheva defeated Be'er Sheva in the Be'er Sheva derby on Saturday. Sunny Ashtamkar (67) top scored as Lions chased 223, winning with three wickets in hand.