Casey South Melbourne sent a statement to the league on day two of round 15 of Victorian Premier Cricket by securing a dominant win over second-placed Footscray on Saturday.
At Casey Fields, the hosts bowled out the Dogs for 206 on day one and reached 0/15 not out, setting up a potentially season-defining run chase for the Swans.
A falter came early with Finlay Gordon (17) dismissed in the 11th over of the day at the hand of Daniel Wilczynski to have Casey South Melbourne at 1/32.
Skipper Ash Chandrasinghe and number three Jackson Isakka then formed an important stabilising partnership that got the innings back on track.
Isakka reached 40 before he played a poor aerial shot down the ground and was caught in the deep, but the Swans were still well on top at 2/114.
Chandrasinghe batted extremely well and patiently, slowly powering past the half century mark whilst being supported excellently by the next man in, Yash Pednekar.
The pair propelled the hosts to within sight of the target and Pednekar brought it up in style, finding the boundary rope with a beautifully timed cut shot to not only score the winning runs but also bring up a half century of his own.
With still time to bat, Chandrasinghe pushed forward and provided the icing on the cake, raising the bat for a hard-earned unbeaten century off 229 balls.
He also notched the milestone in impressive fashion, blasting a textbook cover drive to the fence.
Casey South Melbourne finished at 2/228, recording an imposing eight-wicket victory to establish itself in the top four.
Chandrasinghe is now up to 614 runs for the season at an average of 55.82.
The Swans now sit fourth with a record of nine wins, five losses and one draw with two rounds to play.
The race towards the postseason is incredibly tight, with third through seventh all on nine wins apiece.
In the run home, Casey South Melbourne travel to face 10th-placed Ringwood in round 16 before concluding the season at home against finals hopeful Richmond.
At Camberwell Sports Ground, table-leader St Kilda (193) copped its second defeat of the season at the hands of Camberwell (3/254).
A century from Shorye Chopra and a great knock from Patrick Forrest (68) guided the Magpies to victory to keep them in the mix for finals.
An almighty run chase from Melbourne University (316) fell short of the target set by Prahran (375).
Shenuka De Silva’s six-wicket haul outdid 139 from Fergus McKenna and 64 from Jack Lyndon.
Odil Perera’s massive innings of 132 partnered with 65 from Musa Hussain still wasn’t enough for Greenvale (251) to hunt down Kingston Hawthorn (284).
A bag of five wickets from Dhruval Parikh ensured Richmond (256) caught Ringwood (150) well short.
Campbell Kellaway’s class was felt at Albert Ground as his monster knock of 153 not out alongside an unbeaten 88 from Jack Harper pushed Melbourne (6/327) comfortably past Carlton (9/326).
Northcote (8/357) and Joe Medew-Ewen (four wickets) successfully defended their score by knocking over Essendon (252) and a ton from Harry Duke (106).
Samuel Elliott showed his versatility by following his 60-run effort in the first innings with a bag of four wickets to help Fitzroy Doncaster (291) hold off Frankston Peninsula (180).
