Spin bowler Harshin varsani in action during a past NPCA league match.
Kanbis A has finally recaptured the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) 50-Overs Super League title following brilliant displays at the weekend.
Kanbis A had their campaign effectively sewn up following a massive 256-run victory over defending champions Ruaraka at Eastleigh High School grounds, which earned them the unassailable lead.
Kanbis’ Rakep Patel was the star of the show as he smacked a scintillating 72-ball century with his teammate Sachin Bhudiya hitting 95 off 71 balls.
Kanbis have a cumulative total of 40 points from their 11 matches played so far with a game in hand while the second placed Swamis have 36 from their 12 fixtures.
Even if Kanbis lose their last match, they will still be on 40 points, which no other team can attain.
Kanbis made their presence felt with early dismissals of Ruaraka’ s top order, which saw the Thika Road troops start their innings on a wrong footing.
Ruaraka’ s prolific opener, Pushkar Sharma was sent back to the pavilion for a paltry 9 runs off 13 deliveries, much to his chagrin.
Pushkar Sharma was caught out by Maxwell Swaminathan as Ruaraka’ s woes intensified.
Ruaraka’ s skipper Nitish Hirani was sent back to the pavilion for a duck when he was bowled by Dhruvam Patel.
The defending champions ran into deep trouble again when Dhruvam bowled out their season’s leading scorer Gautam Waghela (4 off 2 balls).
Kanbis won the toss and elected to bat first, putting on a decent 344 for the loss of 9 in their allotted 50 overs. In reply, a depleted Ruaraka side was bowled out for 88 in 16.3 overs, their lowest score in recent times. Dhruvam was a force to be reckoned with in the match as he collected a total of 5 wickets. Ruaraka’ s humiliating defeat is the worst ever against Kanbis in the NPCA 50 overs League.
–Swamis Prevail-
At Jamhuri High School grounds, Swamibapa A finished their dogged campaign in search of the coveted title as they decimated Sikh Union by 221 runs. The Swamis had been compelled to play catch up but eventually gave up the title race. The two No Results earlier in the season cost them dearly at the end. In the end, they have finished runners-up.
It was a disastrous day at the office for the Sikhs who were bowled out for a paltry 33 in just 10.4 overs.
Sikh Union won the toss and elected to field first as they restricted the Swamis to 254 all out in 48.2 overs.
Swami’s skipper Rushabh Patel was the match’s top scorer hitting 79 off 91 balls followed by teammate and former Ruaraka star Sachi Gill, who scored 42 off 47 balls. Sachin also took 5 wickets to his credit.
–Sir Ali/Stray Lions Triumph—
In the other NPCA Super League matches, Sir Ali Muslim Club A racked up their fourth win of the season beating Shree Cutch Leva Patel Samaj YL A by 87 runs. Sir Ali’s Akash Chandran was the match’s leading scorer with 51 off 80 balls.
At Peponi School, Stray Lions defeated Kenya Kongonis by 33 runs to climb to seventh position. Stray Lions have been the league’s tailenders, but following back-to-back wins they are gradually evading the relegation axe.
Following Kenya Kongonis back-to-back loses, they now are the tail-end Charlies.
Swamibapa have played 12 matches and will be hoping that their closest adversaries Kanbis stumble along the way.
Meanwhile, Onkar Jadhav still holds the lead in the Batting log, despite being dismissed for a paltry 6 off 12 balls.
Onkar tops the runs chat with 597 from 10 innings whilst Ruaraka’s Gautam Waghela is on 524
