ByDanny Caro, Danny Caro
Danny Malyankar turned in a superb individual performance, scoring 103 and then taking three wickets, as Young Ashdod continued their strong start to the season with a convincing 140-run win over local rivals Ashdod A in a Division 1 league game in Ashdod on Saturday.
In Division Two, Tel Aviv defeated Kiryat Gat by five wickets and Be'er Sheva A were far too strong for Ra'anana 2, easily chasing down their 88-run target with eight wickets in hand.
With Shmuel Moses (67) and Shai Penkar (80) adding 118 for the first wicket, and then Penkar and Malyankar putting on another century stand (113) for the second, allowing Youn Ashdod to amass 313 for three wickets in just 35 overs.
Malyankar (3- 26), Kapila Esrato (3- 34) and Raymond Aston (3- 46) then shared nine wickets between them as Ashdod A were bowled out for 173.Young Ashdod collected a maximum 40 points for the win, including the 10 bonus for the early declaration.
After two years at the bottom of the league pile the rejuvenated Tel Aviv team continued their good start to the season with a five wicket win over the fancied Kiryat Gat team at Hadar Yosef.
Josh Masel was the star for the home side, bowling from the eastern end he mesmerised the Kiryat Gat batsmen finishing with the astonishing figures of 8-26 in eight overs - one of the best bowling performances in Israeli cricket.
With his deadly leg-spinners turning a meter the batsmen were unable to fathom him out, as Kiryat Gat crashed to 99 all out in 27 overs.
After lunch Tel Aviv started off confidently until skipper Steve Leigh played a poor shot and with Tel Aviv at 41-4, the game could have gone either way. However Tel Aviv were once again rescued by Stanley Perlman (34 not out) who with Maisels put on a quick 45-run partnership to take Tel Aviv home with five wickets in hand.
This Friday sees a mouthwatering T20 game in Ashdod between Ra'anana and Young Ashdod, with the winners one step closer to the July final.
The two bottom teams, Lod Rangers and Ashdod 'A', go head-to-head in a must-win match for both sides, Sri Lanka Jerusalem and Sri Lanka Tel Aviv challenge each other in another massive match for both teams, while Lions Lod have a double-header against Neve Yonatan and Young Ashdod.
In Division 2, Dimona 'C' take on Be'er Sheva while Kiryat Gat host Petah Tikva.