Tambe and Skipper Nitish Hirani hit centuries as table-toppers pile on 429/6 against Stray Lions A at their home turf. Ruaraka A’s batting juggernaut showed no signs of slowing down on Sunday as they hammered Stray Lions A by 177 runs at Ruaraka Sports Club in the NCCA Super Division 50-Over League.
After being put in by Stray Lions, the league leaders turned the ground into a batting paradise, posting a mammoth 429/6 in 50 overs before bowling out the visitors for 252/9 in 37.5 overs. It was another day of boundary-hitting at Ruaraka, where centuries from two of their top-order batters set the tone early and never let up.
–TAMBE AND HIRANI LEAD THE ASSAULT– Opener Neelakash Ravindra Tambe set the platform with a blistering 106 off 74 balls, laced with 15 fours and a six at a strike rate of 143.24. He was well supported by Chandresh Hirani who smashed a rapid 50 off just 28 deliveries with 8 fours and 2 sixes.
The headline act came from skipper Nitish Hirani. Leading from the front, Hirani anchored the innings with a composed 112 off 112 balls, striking 8 fours and 2 sixes. His century and all-round contribution earned him the Man of the Match award.
The middle order kept the foot on the gas. Maxwell Swaminathan finished unbeaten on 60 off 34, while Omkar Ghule added a quick-fire 48 off 22. Ruaraka’ s total of 429/6 is among the highest in the league this season.
–LIONS FIGHT BUT FALL SHORT —
Chasing a massive 430, Stray Lions A started cautiously but never threatened the target. Parth Chandan played a lone hand with a superb 94 off 82 balls including 10 fours and 4 sixes. Skipper Shubham Jadhav added 53 and Aaditya Srivastava made 50. The win further cements Ruaraka A at the top of the table.
Their batting depth was again on full display, with six batters reaching double figures and four scoring over 40. With two centuries and a 177-run margin, Ruaraka sent another statement to the rest of the league: catch them if you can! –
-ONKAR’S 153 POWERS SWAMIS TO 9-RUN WIN OVER SAMAJ–
Swamibapa A held their nerve to edge SCLPS YL A by 9 runs in another high-scoring Super League clash at Jamhuri High School. Batting first after winning the toss, Swamibapa posted 326/8 in 50 overs. The innings was built around Onkar Haresh Jadhav’s magnificent 153 off 136 balls, with 12 fours and 6 sixes.
He was well supported by Dhwanil Patel who made a steady 69 off 85. Francis Mutua, and Ankit Ashani picked 3 wickets each for SCLPS. Chasing 327, Samaj fought hard to finish on 317/8. Aditya Vekariya led the charge with a fluent 85 off 68, while skipper Niraj Patel made 57 and Francis Mutua blasted 54 off 39. Ravi Rabadia remained unbeaten on 46 off 32 but ran out of partners.
Sachin Gill was the pick of Swamibapa bowlers with 3/38. Onkar’s century earned him the plaudits in a thrilling contest. The NCCA Super Division table has 9 teams. Ruaraka A maintains the lead with 6 wins from 7 matches and an NRR of 1.323. Kanbis A are second with 5 wins from 6 games and the best NRR of 1.510.
Swamibapa A sit third. Sir Ali, Sikh Union and SCLPS YL have mixed records. Ngara and Nairobi Gymkhana are in the bottom half. Stray Lions A are last, winless in 6 games with an NRR of -2.440. In another match, Kanbis A defeated hosts Sor Ali A by 20 runs. Dhiren Gondaria was outstanding with Man of the match bragging rights after he took 4 wickets.
Kanbis won the toss and opted to bat first with Sachin Bhudiya and Dhiren smacking 66 and 55 respectively. Brian Likavu was the matches best batter with 93 off 79 made of 8 boundaries and 4 sixes at a strike rate of 17.72. Brian almost pulled off the chase with his brilliant innings. Promoted to the first team, he seems to have settled well and is playing well in super league.
Meanwhile, the NCCA Super Division runs leaderboard is still topped by Ruaraka A’s Satyalaksha Jain with 466 runs in 7 innings at an average of 66.57 and a strike rate of 122.31.
His teammate Omkar Ghule is close behind in second with 465 runs at 66.43, but boasts the fastest scoring rate at 157.09. Onkar Haresh Jadhav of Swamibapa A sits third with 451 runs, leading on average with 90.20. Hiren Kerai from SCLPS YL is fourth with 426 runs in just 5 innings at 85.20. Aaditya Srivastava of Stray Lions A rounds out the top five with 390 runs in 6 innings.