On form Kanbis Sports Club A clung on to the log summit on week 12 of Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) 50-Overs Super League with a 7-wicket victory of home team Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj.
Oozing confidence from the onset, the Dhiren Gondaria led-Kanbis A racked up their 9th win of the season to stretch their lead to 36 points.
And the Eastleigh outfit did it in bravado retaining a 4-points advantage over Swamibapa A who also won their match by beating Nairobi Gymkhana by 6 wickets.
Swamibapa hitman Sachin Gill had this to say after their much-needed victory: “We had a good start and we were going well but because of 4 dropped catches they (Gymkhana) were able to reach 131 but as our intentions were clear- we wanted to get to the target asap. We had a good start and after that I got out when the team score was 60 in 5 overs…. after that there was a cluster of wickets for us- but out late -the middle order batted through and got us home.”
–Sir Ali Prevail–
Elsewhere, Sir Ali Muslim Club A and T20 Champions Stray Lions A emerged victorious following brilliant displays in the 9-team competition.
By and large, victory was a welcome relief for both teams who have struggled through the 50-Overs season. Wins have remained few and far between for Sir Ali and Stray Lions who are fighting to evade the cruel relegation axe.
Sir Ali A racked up their third win of the season with a 5-run victory over Kenya Kongonis A whilst Stray Lions defeated Sikh Union by 1 wicket.
It was a bitter pill for Kongonis to swallow despite Shem Ngoche’ s brilliant century. Towards the end of their innings, Kongonis needed a few boundaries and sixes which proved elusive when their last wicket fell.
But the Gurdeep Singh “Sunny” led Sir Ali side had their campaign effectively sewn up when their crease adversaries stumbled.
Kongonis won the toss and elected to field first. Sir Ali was bowled out for 266 in 46.1 Overs. Chasing the target Kongonis fell in 49.5 Overs as they were bowled out for 261, 5 runs shy of their target.
The match’s standout player was Stir Ali’s Onkar Haresh Jadhav with a century which saw him dislodge Gautam Waghlela of Ruaraka from the runs’ leaderboard.
Onkar now tops the runs leaderboard with 591 runs accrued from 9 innings while Waghlea is on 520 followed by Sikh Union’s pro Ali Shahid Butt (504) and Dhiren Gondaria of Kanbis with 476 runs to his credit.
–Stray Lions Buoyant–
Stray Lions A top order batsman Kavi Dosaja was all smiles after victory: “Today’s win was a good one for us. I thought our spinners bowled really well on a good wicket to bat on. Coming to batting myself and Neil had another good opening partnership of 98 which pushed the team spirits sky high. And then the rest just chipped away at the target. A good win for us.”
Meanwhile, Kanbis B’s longtime unbeaten run came to an end after a 6-wicket blow to Ngara A at the formers’ Eastleigh backyard.
But Kanbis retained their lead in Division One with 40 points against Ngara’s and Obuya’s 34. Ngara have a match in hand though and it will be interesting to see how the trajectory the competition takes by and large.
Division One Results were as follows:
1. Stray Lions B beat Swamibapa B by 6 wickets.
2. Goan Institute A beat Ruaraka B by 5 wickets
3. Wolves CC beat Nairobi Gymkhana B by 4 wickets
4. Ngara A beat Kanbis B by 6 wickets
Division Two Results: –
1. Stray Lions C beat GI B by 105 runs
2. Ngara B beat Legends CC by 7 wickets