So, with two rounds to play, four teams are level on points at the top of the T20 table, with two others one point and two points behind them, and the race to the semi-finals of this season’s Topklasse T20 Cup could scarcely be tenser.

No doubt somwhat to their own surprise, Hermes-DVS, the only team not to have played on Saturday, remain at the top on net run rate, with Punjab-Ghausia having fluffed their chance to overtake them.

After seeing off a spirited challenge from Excelsior ‘20 in the early game, Punjab might well have thought they were headed for a double win when they had reduced HCC to 48 for five in the ninth over of their innings.

But Mark Wolfe and Daniel Crowley, coming together at 71 for seven, added 53 precious runs in an unbroken stand, Wolfe finishing on 32 and Crowley on 31, and the innings closed on 124.

That still seemed unlikely to be enough against Punjab’s powerful batting line-up, but Clayton Floyd (two for 12 from his four overs) and Oliver White (three for 16, also from four)  combined wicket-taking with exemplary economy, and when the last Punjab wicket fell three deliveries from the scheduled end, the Rotterdammers were still 19 runs short of their target.

There had been no such collapse earlier in the day, when Punjab chased down Excelsior’s imposing 179 for five to win by seven wickets with eight balls to spare.

Not yet free of the relegation zone, Excelsior had posted their best total of the campaign so far, Raynard van Tonder (46 from 23 deliveries), Sam Rahaley (45 from 32) and Tim Etman (50 from 35) all contributing significantly.

But after Karson Edward had removed both openers, Musa Ahmad having made a 38-ball 48, South African Rushdie Jappie, who has made more than 850 runs this season for Punjab’s second team, guided the Rotterdammers home, his unbeaten 61 coming from 38 deliveries with four fours and three sixes.

Burhan Niaz gave him great support with 31 not out from 18, the pair adding 78 runs from just 38 deliveries.

Without four of their first team, all on international duty in Bangladesh, VRA Amsterdam could derive some comfort from the fact that their opponents on Saturday were the two sides at the foot of the table, and were no doubt delighted to come away with four points.

Playing on their second ground in the Amsterdamse Bos, VRA began their day by dismissing HBS Craeyenhout for 90, Darsh Abhinay claiming three for 14; it was, however, Sharad Hake and Leon Turmaine who possibly struck the most significant blows, removing Wes Barresi and Tayo Walbrugh for 14 and 10 respectively.

The home side then needed only 9.4 overs to knock off the runs, Johan Smal (29 not out) and Viraj Thakur (30 not out) putting on 62 from 43 deliveries to make sure of an eight-wicket victory.

Rood en Wit, by contrasted, fully extended their hosts, setting them a testing 165 target, thanks in large measure to a fourth-wicket stand of 80 between skipper Jordan Woolf (66 from 44) and Saber Zakhil (40 from 34).

This enabled them to recover from 13 for three to 164 for seven, and although VRA started well with an opening stand of 90 between Shirase Rasool (62 from 45) and Jack Cassidy (35 from 26), it took them to within one ball of their allotted quota before Ash Oppu hit the winning boundary.

Woolf and Zakhil were again the stars for the Haarlemmers, claiming three for 39 and two for 23.

The closeness of this result, coupled with the decisiveness of the earlier one, enabled Rood en Wit to leapfrog HBS, escaping the bottom of the table for the first time.

Voorburg, with the absence of Noah Croes in Bangladesh adding to their selection difficulties, could thank stand-in opener Waseem Mohsen for their 47-run victory over Sparta 1888 at the Bermweg, a result which kept them in touch with the leading quartet.

Mohsen, who has hit three big centuries in the Eerste Klasse this season, including a 130-ball 219 against Concordia Delft, had contributed a promising cameo against HCC last week, but now he batted almost throughout the innings, hitting nine fours and three sixes in a 65-ball knock of 95 before he was run out in the final over, attempting to retain the strike.

He was given little support until the advent of Udit Nashier, although Tom de Leede might be thought to have been a trifle unlucky to have been caught in the deep off a high full toss from Umar Baker which would certainly have been sent upstairs in a more elevated level of the game.

Coming in at 75 for four, however, Nashier helped Mohsen almost double the score before he was out for 29, and Voorburg closed on 163 for six.

Carl Mumba removed both Sparta’s openers, and then Nashier cut through the middle order, including the dangerous Lukan Boorer when he had made 30, and with Nashier finishing with four for 18 the home side was all out for 106.

That defeat might have spelled the end of Sparta’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals, but their second opponents of the day were struggling VOC Rotterdam, and with Juandre Scheepers (61 from 38) and Shaquille Martina (55 from 48) putting on 99 for the first wicket Manminder Singh’s side reached 161 for seven.

VOC, though, who had managed a total of 113 in their last two chases, found Sparta’s attack much more to their liking, despite the return of former international Mudassar Bukhari for his first outing of the season, and with Scott Janett and Tim de Kok giving them a decent start with twenties, Jason van der Meulen contributing a 17-ball 39 and Aaditt Jain making 31, they reached 149 for six with eight balls remaining.

Then Ahsan Malik returned to remove Jain, and VOC needed 13 from the last seven deliveries as Roman Harhangi joined Jelte Schoonheim.

They managed six off the first four balls of Scheepers’ final over, making the equation seven from two, but when Harhangi was run out trying to keep Schoonheim on strike, six were needed off the last delivery.

Arthur Koppejan could only contrive a single, and with Schoonheim stranded on 19 not out Sparta won by just four runs.

With a full round of matches on Sunday, the most significant is VRA’s home encounter with Punjab-Ghausia, while Hermes-DVS will take on VOC at the Hazelaarweg and HCC will face HBS at Craeyenhout.

Voorburg will overtake either VRA or Punjab is they are able to beat Rood en Wit at Westvliet, while Sparta need to defeat Excelsior at Thurlede; their opponents, though, will know that another loss could see them in danger of their second relegation of the season.

Kampong, meanwhile, continued their unbeaten run in the Hoofdklasse competition, seeing off their nearest challengers, Bloemendaal.