The Dandenong District Cricket Association (DDCA) Turf 2 competition is heating up with the top three tightly contested and Parkfield holding onto top position.
Only half a win separates first from third, with Narre Warren hoping to hold onto fourth spot and play finals in 2025/26.
HSD knocked off Lyndale by five wickets thanks to half centuries from opener Riley Shaw and Anuda Akmeemana.
The Cobras started well and had both openers back in the sheds inside the first six overs to leave Lyndale in early trouble at 2/11.
Usman Ali (38) stabilised at number three, but he lost partners before Manroop Singh (60) joined in on the action.
Faraz Rahman (72 not out) came in and produced a devastating knock, hitting seven sixes and three fours to help the side to a competitive score of 255 – O’Connor and Sakuntha Liyanage both took three wickets for HSD.
An opening 70-run partnership from Shaw (60) and Brent Patterson (46) set the Cobras up nicely in the run chase, despite the pair chewing up plenty of balls.
The run rate needed a big lift at the halfway mark of the HSD innings at 1/81 but, importantly, the side had plenty of wickets in hand.
It was Akmeemana (69 not out) who led the side home to victory late in the day with support from Hans Bell (36) and Luke Grady (18 not out off 8 balls).
North Dandenong defeated Silverton by 111 runs on first innings result in a game which had it all.
The Maroons posted 197 in the first dig, as Imran Laghmani (66) led the way for his side, with Rohit Sandhu taking 4/33 for the Bakers.
In reply, Silverton was bowled out for only 86 runs, with three players making ducks – Sandhu (24) was the top scorer for his side as the Bakers were sent back in.
They performed much better in their second innings and thanks to Robert North (44), Hemal Ratnayake (58) and Anmol Zakhmi, who scored his first ton of the year, finishing with 131, Silverton was all of a sudden a chance for a reverse outright with a 162-run lead.
But North Dandenong was never going to let that happen, with Laghmani (50) notching up a second half century for the match, before Muhammad Dawa Khan blasted a rapid 88 to chase the runs and get his side the nine points.
The Maroons finished 1/164 off just 12.5 overs to win outright, scoring at 12.78 runs per over.
Coomoora held off Cranbourne to win by three wickets, chasing the Eagles’ total of 127, but not without some trouble.
Roos bowler Malan Madusanka put the side on his back in the first innings, taking an incredible 7/41 off 14.2 overs in one of the greatest individual performances this season.
Coomoora looked in control with Nick Suppree (46), Jarrod Munday (29) and Krishan Alang (37) all scoring with ease.
The Roos were 2/116 at one point with 12 runs required for victory, but they almost produced an all-time choke, losing 5/1 to leave the score 7/117 and put some pressure on Dean Krelle (11 not out) to see the team home.
Parkfield dealt Narre Warren a blow, defeating the Magpies convincingly at Sweeney Reserve.
Narre Warren won the toss and chose to bat first but despite seven batters scoring between 10-25, nobody managed to turn their start into a match-winning score which proved costly as the side was bowled out for 112.
In reply, the Bandits cruised to victory, passing the score with relative ease before being bowled out with 195 on the board and a first innings victory.
With an 83-run lead, it was now time for the Magpies to defend and save the game from being an outright loss.
They batted slowly and wickets continued to fall, but Narre Warren hung in there to end the game with two wickets in hand, 8/112.
North Dandenong and Narre Warren will meet this Saturday in a much-anticipated battle, with fourth spot potentially on the line for both sides.
