With two early play-offs slots already taken by Swamibapa A and Kanbis A, four teams have the chance to occupy the remaining two up for grabs at this weekend’s Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 League.
Third placed Sir Ali Muslim Club ‘A’, fourth placed Sikh Union ‘A’ and fifth placed Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL ‘A’) are expected to “fight tooth and nail” to stay in contention for the coveted trophy currently held by outgoing champions Stray Lions ‘A’.
The top four teams at the culmination of the league segment of NPCA’s T20 competition this Saturday and Sunday advance to the playoffs slated for March 15-16.
The top two will play in Qualifier 1 in which the winner earns direct qualification to the March 23 final.
Number three and four teams will square it out in the Eliminator, The winner in the Eliminator meets the loser of the Qualifier1; in Qualifier 2 that holds the key to the second slot of the final.
Sir Ali ‘A’ and Sikh Union ‘A’ have both displayed some flashes of brilliance on the ball and bat, but the latter has had to contend with playing second fiddle to the frontrunners; dropping vital points on sundry occasions.
Sikh Union have had their playoff chances delayed by back-to-back weekend defeats to Swamibapa ‘A’ and Ruaraka ‘A’ on February 22 and 23 respectively.
Asked about his team’s sliding trend over the past few weeks; also, after losing to Ngara ‘A’ on February 8, Sikh Union A skipper Sukhdeep Singh offered: “The pressure moments have handed our young squad an opportunity to learn and grow. But we’ve great positives as Shubham Patel has had a good run and our youngster Yug Patel is bowling fabulously.”
Yug Patel currently sits second behind Vraj Patel of Swamibapa ‘A’ for players with the highest number of wickets.
Sir Ali ‘A’ has two matches this weekend. On Saturday they play SCLPS YL A at Ngara Sports Club) and a tough one on Sunday against leaders Kanbis ‘A’. Sir Ali only needs one win out of the two matches, which, at the very least, qualifies them third on 38 points.
Krishna Babu, Nithin Arvind, Ayush Gusain and skipper Gurdeep Singh “Sunny” will be the men to watch in Sir Ali’s batting order.
Kanbis A on the other hand will be looking to finish the league stage on a high with a victory to cement their first place. Dhiren Gondaria and Sachin Bhudia have been in fine form for the league champions as they chase the T20 crown.
Swamibapa A finished their league stage games with a match against strugglers Nairobi Gymkhana at Gymkhana on Sunday. A victory for Swamibapa will ensure top 2 finish and entry into Qualifier 1.
Samaj A will qualify for the playoffs should they win their remaining two matches against Sir Ali Muslim Club A on Saturday and Stray Lions on Sunday.
Leading Samaj’s ground assault is skipper Raj Bhudia, Aditya Vekariya, Niraj Patel, Ankit Bhanderi and Francis Mutua among others.
Should Sikh Union A (who have a match at hand) defeat Ngara A on Sunday, they’ll hope Samaj A lose in one of their two matches.
Sikh Union will play the likes of Satish Hirani, dangerman Shubham Patel, Captain Sukhdeep, Om Santosh Joshi and Jasraj Kundi among others.
In Division One, front runners Sir Ali B (36points) and Obuya Academy A (34points) will resume the hunt for the last four and so will third placed Samaj B (28) and fourth placed Stray Lions B (28).
On Saturday, Sir Ali B hosts Sikh Union B whilst Kanbis B welcome Obuya B at their Eastleigh backyard on Sunday.
WEEKEND FIXTURES
SATURDAY
Stray Lions A vs Ruaraka A (Peponi)
SCLPS YL A vs Sir Ali Muslim Club A (Ngara Sports Club) Sikh Union A vs Ngara A (Sikh Union Club Nairobi ) Kenya Kongonis A vs Nairobi Gymkhana A (Nairobi Club)
SUNDAY
Sir Ali Muslim Club A vs Kanbis A (Sir Ali Muslim Club) Stray Lions A vs SCLPS YL A (Peponi)
Nairobi Gymkhana A vs Swamibapa A (Nrb Gymkhana) Kenya Kongonis A vs Ngara A (Nairobi Club)
LEAGUE STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 7 1. KANBIS ‘A’ 42
2. SWAMIBAPA ‘A’ 40
3. SIR ALI ‘A’ 34
4. SIKH UNION A 30 5. SCLPS YL ‘A’ 26