Cricket: Ruaraka win NPCA Super League
Vishil Patel of Ruaraka Sports Club 'A' team bowls against Sikh Union 'A' Team, monitored by Umpire Dun Okinyo (right) during Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association Super 50 Overs league match at Sikh Union Cricket ground, Nairobi on September 24, 2023.
What you need to know:
- This is after Coach Francis Otieno’s side defeated Sikh Union Cricket Club “A” by 168 runs in their final match of the campaign at Sikh Union Cricket Club ground
- Chandresh Hirani, Sachin Gill and Maxwell Swaminathan shone with the bat to ensure Ruaraka finally popped the champagne after more than a decade of waiting
- Kanbis maintained their 100 per cent winning record at home with a 200-run rout of Stray Lions at their Eastleigh High School home turf
Ruaraka Sports Club “A” were crowned the 2023 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Super Division 50 Overs League champions at the weekend.
This is after Coach Francis Otieno’s side defeated Sikh Union Cricket Club “A” by 168 runs in their final match of the campaign at Sikh Union Cricket Club ground. They topped the eight-team league with 48 points, four more than second-placed Kanbis Sports Club “A”, while Stray Lions Cricket Club “A” finished third with 40 points.
Chandresh Hirani, Sachin Gill and Maxwell Swaminathan shone with the bat to ensure Ruaraka finally popped the champagne after more than a decade of waiting. Opening batsman Hirani top-scored with 101 runs from 67 balls, Gill delivered 79 runs from 97 balls while Swaminathan hit 62 runs from 54 balls.
With that brilliant batting from the trio, the visitors who won the toss and elected to bat first, set an impressive target of 342 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 50 overs of their innings.
Sikh Union failed to spoil their opponent’s party after they were bowled-out in 37.5 overs with just 174 runs scored.
Middle-order batsman Nehemiah Odhiambo was the host's top scorer with 40 runs from 57 balls.
"Pushkar, Swaminathan and myself had some good runs on the crease. Pushkar has played some brilliant innings this season and has been in good form lately. See how Ruaraka has been performing over the past one and a half years. I must admit that we have been the team that everyone would like to beat as we have been the top performing team,” said Gill who was named the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) this season.
In total, Gill scored 692 runs and took 21 wickets in 13 innings. Only Shubham Jadhav (Stray Lions) and Pushkar Sharma (Ruaraka) scored more runs at 966 in 14 innings and 730 in 14 innings respectively.
Had Ruaraka lost to Sikh Union, Kanbis would have clinched the title courtesy of a better net run rate. Kanbis maintained their 100 per cent winning record at home with a 200-run rout of Stray Lions at their Eastleigh High School home turf.
"I think going unbeaten in the second round was a great comeback from losing three in a row in the last round. I think those games are the ones which cost us the title, but no complaints, as we were playing with local players whereas teams played with three to five professionals,” said Kanbis captain Dhiren Gondaria.
"I'm proud of the boys, the way they have played throughout the league season and how they gave experienced overseas players a run for their money; which goes to show that Kanbis is moving on the right track.”
