The 2025 TK Cup competition got under way on Sunday with some genuine surprises, and a tie between Excelsior ‘20 and defending champions Voorburg at Thurlede.

Chasing Excelsior’s 158 for five, to which Roel Verhagen had contributed a 42-ball 58 not out, Voorburg’s reply was given a great start by Michael Levitt, whose 68 came from 37 deliveries and included six fours and four sixes.

At 100  for one in the 11th over Voorburg appeared to be cruising to victory, but when Levitt was run out looking for a second and chancing Jason Ralston’s arm from deep mid-off, the game began to tighten.

Debutant Nihil Reddy chipped in with the wickets of Ryan Klein and Carl Mumba, and when Jens Blankestijn commenced the final over four were still needed with four wickets in hand.

The odds still favoured the visitors, but Blankestijn trapped Henry Melville in front with his first delivery, and then Tom de Leede was run out off the second.

Mees van Vliet managed a two and a one to level the scores, but Patient Charumbira could only fend the last in front of square, where Raynard van Tonder took the catch to ensure that, in the absence of a provision for a Super Over, the points were shared. 

The biggest surprise of the day came at Craeyenhout, where Sparta 1888, who had spent the bulk of the 50-over competition languishing at the foot of the table, opened their T20 campaign with a brace of victories, the first of them over Punjab-Ghausia.

Punjab had won their first game of the day comfortably enough, restricting hosts HBS to 122 for nine, in which young Azzam Khan top-scored with 33, and then knocking off the runs in 16.5 overs, thanks in large part to Burhan Niaz’s unbeaten 49 from 27 deliveries and despite Lehan Botha’s four for 34.

They looked likely enough at first to repeat that win against Sparta, reaching 57 for two after seven overs and 113 for four after 13.

But Ahsan Malik claimed three for 27, Umar Baker three for 39 and Khalid Ahmadi three for 29, and the side was all out in the final over for a still-challenging 159.

Then Kyle Klesse, opening for Sparta in this format, took a hand, hammering a 43-ball 73 which included no fewer than eight sixes, and when he was out off the last ball of the 15th over 22 were needed off the last five.

Juandre Scheepers and Malik were equal to the challenge, and although Muhammad Gondal picked up three for 13 Sparta completed their four-wicket victory with seven balls to spare.

Klesse made it a great day out by steering his side to a more emphatic seven-wicket win in the last game of the day at Craeyenhout, making an unbeaten 63 as Sparta chased down the hosts’ 112 all out.

The architects of HBS’s problems were Malik and Scheepers with four for 20 and three for 26 respectively, with Lehan Botha,  Reece Mason and Khan all managing twenties but unable to go any further.

Marginally ahead of Sparta on NRR and heading the table after round 1 are Hermes-DVS, who hosted Rood en Wit Haarlem and HCC at the Loopuyt Oval and saw off both.

Rood and Wit, who reached the T20 top flight by winning a badly rain-affected Hoofdklasse final last season, started promisingly, restricting Hermes to 118 for seven, in which Asad Zulfiqar top-scored with 25.

Ismatullah Nasery had a dream start, coming on in the fifth over and bowling Daniel Doyle-Calle and Ash Ostling with his first two deliveries, but although Arnav Mishra made a 22-ball 26 when the Haarlemmers replied, they were unable to cope with the Hermes attack, Olivier Elenbaas claiming four for 20, and were all out for 94.

They then came up against HCC, who posted the day’s highest total with 161 for five: Oliver White made 52, Boris Gorlee 43 (from 24 deliveries, 40 of them in boundaries), and Shirsak Banerjee 32 not out as the Lions made the most of the conditions.

That was always likely to prove too much for Rood and Wit, who despite Saber Zakhil’s defiant 46 were dismissed for 102.

HCC, though, faced a tougher task in their second game, when Hermes, batting first, made 136 for seven, Doyle leading the way with a 46-ball 58 and Aryan Dutt dominating the later overs with a 27-ball 40 not out.

Justin Trijzelaar claimed three for 11 for HCC, but the batting never really fired, Olivier Elenbaas again among the wickets with three for 26 and Hikmatullah Jabarkhail claiming three for 23 as the side was all out for 111, Banerjee the highest scorer with 19.

In a one-off match in the Amsterdamse Bos, VOC Rotterdam, who had won their play-off the day before to secure their place in the 50-over Topklasse, began their T20 campaign in style with an eight-wicket victory over VRA Amsterdam.

Arnav Jain gave the Bloodhounds a great start by bowling the dangerous Vikram Singh with the fifth ball of the game, and although Teja Nidamanuru (55) and Shariz Ahmad (30) put on 65 for the third wicket, the Rotterdammers’ attack were able to restrict their hosts to a modest 117 for seven.

Scott Janett then took up where he had left off on Saturday, though in a rather higher gear, and he and Monty Singh took control of the game with a second-wicket stand of 100 before Singh fell to a persistent Ben Fletcher for 41. 

Janett, though, continued in company with Jason van der Meulen, finishing on 60 not out from 49 deliveries and seeing his side home with 22 balls to spare.