Swamibapa ‘A’ defeated Kanbis ‘A’ by 9-wickets in a low-scoring match at Jamhuri grounds to continue with their impressive start to the T20 season.
Swamibapa skipper Rushabh Patel attributed their second victory of the season to discipline, adding that they will be the team to beat in the T20 season.
Kanbis won the toss and elected to bat first; but a rapid collapse of their top and middle orders saw the Eastleigh troops all bowled out for 59 in 11.4 overs.
Sachin Gill picked up two wickets in the first two balls of the innings to send the formidable Kanbis batting line up on the back foot. Hitendra Sanghani picked up four wickets supported by Vraj Patel and Peter Koech with two wickets each as Kanbis folded for a paltry 59 runs.
Mikunj Patel emerged Kanbis’ highest scorer with a paltry 17 runs from 25 deliveries before being bowled out by Harendra Arvind Sanghani.
It was a bad day at the office for Kanbis’ skipper and on-form batsman Dhiren Gondaria, who departed the crease with just 2 from 7 deliveries. Pushpak Kerai got dismissed with a duck as Sachin Bhudiya could only score 3 off 6 balls.
But Rushabh’s 13 off 14 balls, Prashang Hirani’s 37 off 25, and Sachin Gill’s 9 off 10 balls were all that the Swami’s needed to finish the job.
Swamis skipper Rushabh said: “Kanbis is never an easy team to beat, I think the fielders took the catches when there were chances, a lot of singles that were stopped within the tight yards, and the boundaries were stopped too. The bowling and fielding efforts were fantastic.
“We are the team to beat this time round as we were last year when we lost the final to Stray Lions,” he added.
About their defeat to Swamibapa A, Sachin said: “We weren’t expecting this kind of result, but we’ll bounce back. Our batting wasn’t up to scratch. We lost early on wickets and couldn’t reach our target.”
Hungry for success, Sir Ali Muslim Club ‘A’ team is keen on capturing the 2025 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 title following brilliant displays at the weekend.
After an action-packed Saturday and a Sunday, Sir Ali dislodged Swamibapa A from the summit of the T20 log after week two proceedings, but only just on Net Run Rate!
Sir Ali currently top the T20 Super Division log with 10 points, same as second placed Swamibapa ‘A’ (NRR 5.026) and third placed Sikh Union ‘A’ (NRR 2.249), but on a superior Net Run Rate of 5.151.
Sir Ali also had their on-song hitman Simran stretch his lead on the leaderboard to 223 runs, which is the highest thus far in the season.
Simran struck the season’s first century in their season- opening win over Kenya Kongonis ‘A’ with 104 off 50 deliveries.
Sir Ali also beat Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj YL A by 9 wickets, thanks to Simran’s 63 off 30 balls.
Ruaraka 'A' defeated defending T20 Champions Stray Lions ‘A’ by 6 wickets at Ruaraka Sports Club to register their first victory of the tournament, while hosts Nairobi Gymkhana ‘A’ beat Ngara ‘A’ by 6 wickets.
Sikh Union ‘A’ had a comfortable six-wicket advantage over hosts Kongonis ‘A’. -Five Super-Div. Matches Abandoned-
All five Super-Division matches on the cards scheduled for Sunday were abandoned due to heavy rains.
Ngara Sports Club A 95/9 (20.0 Ov); Nairobi Gymkhana A 101/4 (13.4 Ov); Nbi Gymkhana won by 6 wickets
Nbi Gymkhana A vs Kongonis A (Nairobi Gymkhana) -Match Abandoned Ngara Sports Club A vs SCLPS YL A (Ngara) -Match Abandoned
NRB JAFFERY’S: Jaffrey’s 151/4 (20.0 Ov); Sikh Union Development 107/9 (20.0)-Jaffrey’s won by 44 runs
VIRAJ INT. ACADEMY: Wolves CC B 76/7 (20.0 Ov); Stray Lions D 77/2 (8.5 Ov); Stray Lions B won by 8 wickets.
