Kanbis and Swamis battle for supremacy in the NPCA league

Former leader and defending champion Ruaraka Sports Club A failed to score any points this weekend and as a result dropped to third place after 8 matches.

After nine weeks of excellent play, the Swamis returned to the top of the Super League, picking up 24 points from eight matches, but only by a narrow margin.

They are level on points with Kanbis at 24, but Rushab Patel-led Swamibapa have a slight advantage in Net Run Rate having played an extra match.

Ruaraka and Swamibapa played their first matches, showing off a great run in the competition, which involves nine teams.

However, it will be interesting to see how the battle for supremacy in the NPCA Super Division plays out, considering that Kanbis also has an opponent up his sleeve.

The Kanbis were unbeaten in the game, inflicting a five-wicket blow on Kenya Kongonis at their home turf of Eastleigh. Kongonis, who won the toss and elected to bat first, struggled to put together a decent partnership after another collapse in the top order, which saw them reduced to 37/5 in just 10 overs.

They were eventually bowled out for 134 in 31.1 overs. Kanbis, with an eye on the net run rate, chased the score in just 15 overs, losing 5 wickets.

Nairobi Gymkhana won the toss and elected to field first. In the first innings, the Swamis were bowled out for 203 in 49.3 overs. In reply, runs were few and far between for Gymkhana, who were bowled out for a paltry 50 in just 14.4 overs.

Sachin Gill was the toast of the Swamis after he took 6 wickets. With the bat, Yash Chavan, the Swamibapa pacer, scored 70 off 84 balls while Sachin scored 34 off 65 before being caught by Bhavya Thaker. Young Neel Doshi bowled brilliantly, taking 6/33 in 9.3 overs.

The in-form Sikh Union A team maintained their winning streak by recording an 84-run lead over Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL A) at the latter’s Nairobi West ground.

The Sikhs were happy to get the all-important 4 points. Sikh Union skipper Sukhdeep Singh, however, admitted that there was panic in the first few overs of their innings but the confidence in the batting line-up till the end made them believe that 218 was a manageable score and a superb batting performance by Shoaib scored a magnificent half-century (85 runs) to give them the runs they needed in the first instance.

“During the bowling, Ali Raza’s brilliance helped us a lot. The team showed great fighting spirit when it came to bowling as we lost a lot of balls. But we learn as we go. Aum Patel came back brilliantly to the team with 2 crucial wickets which got us into the game. Overall, we are happy to get 4 points and as we said, we take it game by game and don’t look too far ahead,” Sukhdeep said.

Meanwhile, Sir Ali Muslim Club A returned to winning ways with a deserved eight-wicket victory over bottom-placed Stray Lions A, who suffered their fifth defeat of the 50-Overs season.

Led by Gurdeep Singh ‘Sunny’ Sir Ali, the A’s have won two of their seven matches following a five-goal defeat to Kanbis last weekend.

It was the fifth defeat of the season for T20 champions Stray Lions A after they won a scoreless match against Swamibapa on July 7. Sir Ali’s Hrushikesh Pawar was the main tormentor for the Stray Lions batsman, taking five wickets for just 17 runs.

Sunny was the highest scorer of the match, scoring 57 off 63 balls, while his teammate Krishna Babu scored 56 off 61 deliveries.

Super League continues next weekend with Ruaraka A returning to the pitch to take on Stray Lions A at the Ruaraka Sports Club.

Swamibapa A will host SCLPS YL A Nairobi Jaffrey’s. Kanbis A will play Sir Ali A at Eastleigh Stadium, while Kongonis A and Nbi Gymkhana A will play at the Nairobi Club.

The title race continues this season with the top four fighting for the coveted Super League title in 2024.

1. Swamibapa A 24 points – net ratio – 1.907

2. Kanbis A 24 points – net index – 1,690

3. Ruaraka A 20 points – net index rub 1.985

4. Sikh Union 20 points – Net Run Rate 1.012