Week two of the Nairobi County Cricket Association (NCCA) Super Division 50-Overs League was defined by big hundreds, huge totals, and a change at the top!
Every Super Division match produced a century on week 2, and two of them came in innings that completely swung the table.
Kanbis A Team took over from Ruaraka A Team as log leaders on Net Run Rate (NRR) despite the latter posting the biggest total of the weekend, while Ngara Sports Club saw their week one momentum fade.
–Kanbis A Dethrones Ngara to Go Top– Kanbis fired the statement of the week with 189 run victory over hosts Ngara SC A.
Kanbis’ innings was headlined by Shrut Kalavadia who smashed 150 off 122 balls made up of 17 fours and 5 sixes at a strike rate of 122.95.
Kalavadia had excellent support. Skipper Dhiren Gondaria made a fluent 59 off 61 with 2 fours and 5 sixes, whilst Rakep Patel provided late fireworks with 49 off 28 including 4 fours and 3 sixes at a strike rate of 175.00.
Even Smit Patel’s 23 and Navneet Vora’s unbeaten 11 off 10 helped push Kanbis past 330. With that total, Kanbis not only beat Ngara but also boosted their NRR to +2.650 — enough to overtake Ruaraka at the top despite both teams being on 2 wins from 2 outings.
For Ngara, the loss exposed bowling frailties and dropped them to 5th with NRR -0.980.
–Swamibapa Crush Gymkhana By 170 Runs–
After a false start in week 1 which saw them lose to Ngara, Swamibapa were back in the groove defeating Gymkhana by 170 runs. Gymkhana won the toss and put the Swamis to bat.
Dhwanil Patel was named Best Batter for a superb 121 off 101 with 10 fours and 4 sixes, anchoring the innings. He got strong support from captain and opener Rushabh Patel with 29 off 31 and Sachin Gill’s 67 off 72 balls for a total of 313 for 7 in the allotted 50 overs.
Chasing the target, Gymkhana collapsed to 143/10 in 42 overs. Only Ali Shahid Butt’s 63 off 86 offered resistance. Swamibapa’s bowlers shared the wickets, with Sachin Gill starring again with 3 to earn Player of the Match. Veteran player Shem Ngoche and Jignesh Hirani took 2 each.
–Ruaraka Outgun SCLPS YL by 81 runs– Ruaraka stayed unbeaten after two weeks, treating fans to some exhilarating high scoring antics in their 81-run victory over Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL A) at Sir Ali grounds.
Omkar Ghule was destructive with 112 off 55 made up of 8 fours, 9 sixes at 203.64 SR. Ruaraka skipper Captain Nitish Hirani added a composed 90 off 112. SCLPS YL replied with 279/10, falling 81 runs short. Ruaraka sits second on 8 points and NRR +1.930.
–Sikhs Gore the Lions in Peponi-
After a rather disappointing opening week, Sikh Union A recovered to defeat hosts Stray Lions by 5 wickets at Peponi. Stray Lions won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring 264 for 9 in 48.5 overs.
In reply, Sikhs made 267 for 5 in just 30.2 overs. Sikh union skipper Sukhdeep Singh smacked 92 off 48 with Shubham Patel hitting 64 off 28.
With Kanbis and Ruaraka already clear, and Swamibapa climbing fast after their 170-run win, the title race is shaping up early.
Week 3 now becomes crucial for Ngara and Stray Lions to bounce back and for the chasing pack to close the gap. If batting form continues like this, expect more 300-plus totals and more hundreds next weekend.
So far, 7 centuries have been scored in just 2 weeks of action, and it looks like we are in for a batting feast in the coming weeks.
The batting has been dominated by the overseas stars, but some of our local stars like Rakep Patel, Dhiren Gondaria, and Sachin Gill continue to excel for their respective teams.
Parth Chandan 130 ball century wasn’t enough to secure Stray Lion A victory as teammate Shubham Jadhav made a great contribution of 78 off 74 deliveries.
DIVISION ONE RESULTS-WEEK2
■Kenya Kongonis bt Legends CC A by 6 wickets
■Sir Ali B bt Obuya Academy A by 6 wickets
■Kanbis B bt Ngara Sports Club B by 152 runs
■Nrb Gymkhana B bt Swamibapa B by 5 wickets
■Samaj B bt Ruaraka by 181 runs
■Wolves A bt Sikh Union B by 60 runs
TOP 5 STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 2
1. Kanbis A Team – 2 Matches, 2 Wins, 0 Losses, 8 Points, NRR +2.650
2. Ruaraka A Team – 2 Matches, 2 Wins, 0 Losses, 8 Points, NRR +1.930
3. Swamibapa A Team – 2 Matches, 1 Win, 1 Loss, 4 Points, NRR +0.790
4. Sikh Union A Team – 2 Matches, 1 Win, 1 Loss, 4 Points, NRR +0.389
5. Ngara Sports Club A Team – 2 Matches, 1 Win, 1 Loss, 4 Points, NRR -0.980