Rotterdam Dockers joined Edinburgh Castle Rockers at the top of the ETPL table after winning the game of the tournament by five runs but only one of them will reach Sunday’s final by winning one more game.

The Scottish-based side are the big favourites to win the league phase – victory over Belfast Wolves on Thursday morning will guarantee that and put them straight through to the decider, but Rotterdam, who face basement side Dublin Guardians in the last   game in the afternoon look good for Saturday’s play-off  against the third place team.

Amsterdam Flames can put themselves into that position with victory in Wednesday’s only game against Glasgow Cosmic but Tuesday afternoon’s action underlined that Rotterdam and Edinburgh appear to have that little bit extra and a deciding third game between the teams would be a fitting finale.

Edinburgh had hammered Rotterdam by 55 runs in Voorburg but the Dockers, led by the inspirational Faf du Plessis, have won all three games in Dublin and are the form team.

Confidently deciding to bat first, against the trend of the tournament, du Plessis again led from the front and became the first batter to score 400 runs with a fifth half century – nobody else has made more than three.

His new opening partner was Colin Monro,  playing his first game, and he dominated the stand of 35 with 26 from 18 balls (four fours and a six) before falling to a spectacular boundary catch by Gareth Delany.

Du Plessis than ran the show for the next 10 overs, with 54 from 35 balls, in company with Heinrich Klaasen who hit five fours and two sixes in his 47 from 27.

David Wiese ended up with the best strike rate (17 not out off 8), hitting another debutant, Reece Topley for a six and a four off successive balls but when Tom Curran conceded just seven off the last over, the total of 181 for six was by no means out of sight.

Rotterdam, though, also have the top two wicket-takers, and although neither Anrich Nortje (19) or David Wiese (16) - level with Amsterdam’s Michael Bracewell – added to their tally the 14th over by Nortje ultimately proved so important.

Brendan McMullen with 47 from 30 balls had put Edinburgh on course for victory but Nortje conceded just one run in his third over, with Mitchell Santner facing five ‘dot’ balls; next over Delany holed out at long on to leave Edinburgh on 117 for five.

But Curran, who finished 33 not out from 18 balls, and Santner never gave up and when Curran was not only dropped on the boundary by Vikramjit Singh but he palmed it over for six, it appeared to a huge momentum shift and left the Castle Rockers needing 19 off nine balls.

The last over hero, however, was Logan van Beek, who had to defend 16  and, even with the help of a wide, Curran and Santner could manage only six from the first five balls. The captain hit the last ball for four but it didn’t matter. It was deadlock at  the top of the table and everything to play for on Thursday.