Leinster pulled off a dramatic three-wicket victory over Merrion in a thrilling finish at Rathmines.

Merrion posted 164-7 from their 20 overs, built around a fluent 47 from 34 balls by Swapnil Modgill, who struck five fours and a six. Jamie Forbes added 31, while Bilal Azhar and Tom O'Connor claimed two wickets apiece.

The chase remained in the balance throughout, with Tom Johnson top-scoring with 37 and useful contributions from Younas Ahmadzai (27) and Tom O'Connor (26). Andrew Doheny's 3-35 and Modgill's 2-24 kept Merrion in contention as the game went down to the final ball.

With Leinster needing five for victory from the last delivery, Mark Tonge produced a moment of brilliance, launching a match-winning six to seal a memorable success.

Pembroke underlined their impressive strength in depth with a crushing 109-run victory over Adamstown.

Missing all of their international players, Pembroke barely skipped a beat as Addison Sheriff and JJ Garth produced a match-winning second-wicket partnership of 145 in just 12 overs.

Sheriff blasted 90 from only 43 balls, striking six fours and seven sixes, while opener Garth hammered 76 from 44 deliveries with five fours and five sixes.

Greg Hollins then provided a late flourish with an unbeaten 23 as Pembroke posted a formidable 226-4.

Adamstown never threatened the target despite Prasanth Damodaran’s 29. Paul Lawson (3-11) and Byron McDonough (3-23) led the bowling effort as Pembroke restricted their opponents to 117-9.

Railway Union cruised to a commanding 97-run victory over Terenure in their Group A clash at Park Avenue.

Promoted to open the batting, Liam McCarthy made the most of the opportunity with a blistering 66 from just 32 balls, striking six fours and five sixes to set the tone for the innings.

He shared the bulk of Railway’s 177-5 with Hayden Hamilton, who anchored the effort superbly with an unbeaten 54 from 49 deliveries, including four fours and a six.

Syed Bacha was Terenure’s most successful bowler with 2-29.

Any hopes of a competitive chase quickly disappeared as Terenure’s batting struggled throughout. Jaagrat Srivastava ripped through the line-up with 4-15, while Abhay Tipnis and Mark Canniffe claimed two wickets apiece as Terenure were dismissed for a disappointing 80.

Phoenix powered to a nine-wicket DLS victory over North County in Group C at Balrothery after a dominant batting display.

North County made a bright start as openers Lochie Hardy and Suliman Safi added 73 in seven overs. Hardy struck four sixes in an entertaining 34 from 22 balls, while Safi contributed 31 from 23 deliveries.

However, the innings lost momentum badly thereafter, with only John Devane's run-a-ball 25 offering further resistance as they were bowled out for 132. George Dockrell (3-13) and James Maginnis (3-34) starred with the ball.

Phoenix lost Johnit Mungal to a run out from the second ball of the chase, but skipper Shane Getkate blasted an unbeaten 79 from 37 balls (10 fours, 5 sixes) and, alongside Tyrone Kane's unbeaten 29 (4 fours, 1 six), added 112 in 10 overs to race past their revised target.

Dublin University secured a comfortable six-wicket victory over Civil Service at College Park. 

Civil Service were dismissed for 85 in 18 overs despite efforts from Simranjeet Singh (29) and Deepak Jayachandran (25). 

Tom Anders led the attack with 3-14, while Yash Balasubramanium claimed 2-15. Mikey O’Reilly continued his impressive recent form, taking 2-19 to help restrict the visitors to a modest total. 

The chase was anchored by debutant David Delany, the Irish international turning out for Dublin University in this competition rather than Clontarf. Delany finished unbeaten on 43 from 34 balls, striking five fours and a six, as the students reached 88-4 in 14.2 overs to seal victory with ease.

Rush won a remarkable run-fest at Kenure, chasing down 230 to beat The Hills by five wickets with four balls to spare. 

The Hills looked in complete control after Mohammad Sherzad and Liam Blackford shared a stunning 170-run second-wicket partnership in 15 overs. 

Sherzad smashed 91 from 45 balls, including seven fours and eight sixes, while Blackford fell agonisingly short of a century with 99 from 57 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and six sixes. 

However, Rush launched an extraordinary reply. Abidullah Taniwal blasted 43 from just 11 balls, clearing the ropes seven times, including five sixes in Killian McGrane's second over. Jack McGee struck 34 from 20 balls before skipper Nathan McGuire hammered 39. 

Isaac Bird then sealed victory with an unbeaten 86 from 49 balls, featuring four fours and eight sixes.

Malahide claimed a comfortable six-wicket DLS victory over Balbriggan in their clash at the Jack Harper Ground. 

Balbriggan posted a competitive 142-8 from 20 overs, with Chris de Freitas striking 34 from 25 balls, including three sixes. 

Jordan Hollard provided a powerful late surge, finishing unbeaten on 39 from just 19 deliveries with five sixes, while Cameron Rowe contributed 27. Jeremy Martins and Timcy Khanduja took two wickets apiece for Malahide. 

A revised target never troubled the visitors. Skipper Jeremy Martins followed up his bowling performance with an unbeaten 41 from 28 balls, hitting two fours and three sixes. Alex Brown made 26, while coach Greg Ford accelerated the chase with 24 from only 13 balls, including two sixes, as Malahide reached 111-4 in 12.2 overs.

Clontarf eased to a nine-wicket victory over North Kildare in Group D at Castle Avenue after a dominant all-round display. 

North Kildare struggled to build momentum and finished on 93-8 from their 20 overs, with Yash Kalasannavar top-scoring with 20. John McNally (2-7) and Liam Gilhooly (2-11) led an economical Clontarf bowling attack that kept the visitors under pressure throughout. 

The chase suffered an early setback when Seamus Lynch was dismissed for three, but that proved only a minor inconvenience. Sam Morgan took control with a superb unbeaten 70 from 40 balls, striking nine fours and two sixes. 

He shared an unbroken 92-run partnership in just 10 overs with opener Mitchell Thompson, who made a patient 20 not out, as Clontarf raced to a bloodless win in the 12th over.