Rush will face Leinster in the promotion/relegation playoff after defeating Railway Union by 4 wickets on the final day of the Division 2 season at Kenure.
Shahid Iqbal was the star of the show as his 4-46 and unbeaten 50 took Rush home with four wickets and 7.4 overs to spare. That may make it seem like a comfortable victory but with the rain and wickets falling earlier in the chase, Railway were on top and looked favourites for victory.
Railway won the toss and opted to bat first but were immediately rocked back with the loss of Gaur for 2 in the second over, when Nathan McGuire took a stunning catch over his shoulder running back from extra cover.
Kenny Carroll, as often the case for Railway, proved the crucial wicket. He lost Stiles (16) and Sultan (14) but Carroll’s 69 (96 balls; 9x4s & 2x6s) took Railway to 127/4 when Iqbal had his first of the day.
Carroll top-edged a sweep and Stephen Doheny took a simple catch at mid-wicket.
Rush continued to take wickets and when McGuire took another great catch at deep square leg to dismiss Fakar for 26, Alex Neary (3-35) had his third and Railway were 180/7.
Coffey who bowled a miserly 10 overs for 25 runs returned to take his second wicket and leave Railway nine down before Iqbal had Jackson caught by Armstrong, leaving Railway bowled out for 203 with 5 balls to spare of their innings.
Doheny and Armstrong put on 46 for the first Rush wicket but Jackson (2-59) removed both Doheny and Mullen so Rush were 65/3.
The home side were still three down as the 20th over came into view, so too did a heavy shower. Captain Neil Rock knew his side were behind the DLS par score but got himself out top-edging a sweep to Divney behind the stumps.
Rush were our down and behind the DLS par as the rain got heavier but never to the point of the players leaving the field.
A 38-run partnership between Gull and Ramnathpur brought Rush ahead of DLS but when Singh had Gull (31) LBW, Railway were back on the front foot.
A 73-run 6th wicket partnership between Ramnathpur and Iqbal settled the game in Rush’s favour. Ramnathpur hit 7 boundaries in his 47 as he battled cramp to bring his side to the verge of victory.
When he fell, Iqbal finished the job off, hitting consecutive boundaries that not only brought Rush home to victory but also brought up his unbeaten half-century off just 48 deliveries (5x4,2x6).
Rush celebrated their 4-wicket over Railway, but they were also a little reserved, knowing that a daunting play-off against last year’s champions Leinster awaits in just a week’s time.
That’s after both Leinster and Phoenix were beaten on the final day of the Premier League season, meaning Phoenix remain bottom and are relegated, while Leinster stay in the play-off position.