NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 28 – Swamibapa ‘A’ defeated Kanbis ‘A’ by 9-wickets in a low-scoring match at Jamhuri grounds to continue with their impressive start to the T20 season.
Following their second win of the season, Swamibapa skipper Rushabh Patel attributed “discipline and skill level” to their good run so far.
Without “poking the bear”, Rushabh also averred that Swamibapa ‘A’ would be the team to beat in the T20 season.
Kanbis won the toss and elected to bat first; but a rapid collapse of their top and middle orders saw the Eastleigh troops all bowled out for 59 in 11.4 overs.
Sachin Gill picked up two wickets in the first two balls of the innings to send formidable Kanbis batting line up on the back foot.
Hitendra Sanghani picked up four wickets well supported by Vraj Patel and Peter Koech with two wickets each as Kanbis folded for a paltry 59 runs.
Mikunj Patel was apparently Kanbis’ highest scorer with a paltry 17 runs from 25 deliveries before being bowled out by Harendra Arvind Sanghani.
It was literally a bad day at the office for Kanbis’ skipper and in-form talismanic batsman Dhiren Gondaria, who departed the crease with just 2 from 7 deliveries. Pushpak Kerai got dismissed with a duck as Sachin Bhudiya could only score 3 off 6 balls.
But Rushabh’s 13 off 14 balls, Prashang Hirani’s 37 off 25, and Sachin Gill’s 9 off 10 balls were all that the Swami’s needed to finish the job.
However easy it may have seemed for the Swamis, skipper Rushabh candidly admitted: “Kanbis is never an easy team to beat, I think the fielders took the catches when there were chances, a lot of singles that were stopped within the tight yards, and the boundaries were stopped too.
From the beginning, the bowling and fielding efforts were fantastic.
We are the team to beat this time round as we were last year when we lost the final to Stray Lions, unfortunately.
Reflecting on their defeat to Swamibapa A, Sachin explained: “We weren’t expecting this kind of result, but we’ll try and bounce back; to improve. In this game, you never give up and have to play positive cricket until the final ball. Our batting wasn’t up to scratch. We lost early on wickets and couldn’t reach our target.”
With an apparently insatiable appetite for success, Sir Ali Muslim Club ‘A’ team is hell-bent on capturing the 2025 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 title following brilliant displays at the weekend.
After an action-packed Saturday and a Sunday deluged by the heavy rains, Sir Ali dislodged Swamibapa A from the summit of the T20 log after week two proceedings, but only just on Net Run Rate!
Sir Ali currently tops the T20 Super Division log with a week-two cumulative points of tally of 10 points, same as second placed Swamibapa ‘A’ (NRR 5.026) and third placed Sikh Union ‘A’ (NRR 2.249), but on a superior Net Run Rate of 5.151.
–On-Song Simran—
Sir Ali not only cemented their lead at the top but also had their on-song hitman Simran stretch his lead on the leaderboard to 223 runs, which is the highest thus far in the season.
Simran has literally been on fire and duly struck the season’s first century in their season- opening win over Kenya Kongonis ‘A’ with a magnificent 104 off 50 deliveries.
Sir Ali also beat Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj YL A by 9 wickets, thanks to Simran’s 63 off 30 balls.
Ruaraka ‘A’ defeated defending T20 Champions Stray Lions ‘A’ by 6 wickets at Ruaraka Sports Club to register their first win of the tournament whilst hosts Nairobi Gymkhana ‘A’ beat Ngara ‘A’ by 6 wickets.
Sikh Union ‘A’ savoured a comfortable six-wicket advantage over hosts Kongonis ‘A’.
-Five Super-Div. Matches Abandoned-
All five Super-Division matches on the cards scheduled for Sunday were abandoned due to heavy rains.
SELECTED NPCA T20 WEEKEND RESULTS Sat/25/01/25
NPCA SUPER DIVISION
JAMHURI: Kanbis A 59/10 (14.4 Ov); Swamibapa A 60/1 (8.3 Ov); Swamibapa won by 9 wickets
Ruaraka SC: Stray Lions A 170/1 (20.0); Ruaraka A 171/4 19.3)-Ruaraka won by 6 wickets
NBI CLUB: Kongonis A 92/10 (19.42); Sikh Union A 93/4 (12.2 Ov)-Sikhs won by 6 wickets
Sir Ali: SCLPS YL A 103/10 (17.2); Sir Ali Muslim Club A 105/1 (8.2 Ov)- Sir Ali A won by 9 wickets
Ngara Sports Club A 95/9 (20.0 Ov); Nairobi Gymkhana A 101/4 (13.4 Ov); Nbi Gymkhana won by 6 wickets
Sun/25/01/25
NPCA SUPER DIVISION
Sikh Union A vs Kanbis A (Sikh Union) -Match Abandoned
Ruaraka A vs Swamibapa A (Ruaraka) -Match Abandoned
Stray Lions A vs Sir Ali Muslim club A (Peponi) -Match Abandoned
Nbi Gymkhana A vs Kongonis A (Nairobi Gymkhana) -Match Abandoned Ngara Sports Club A vs SCLPS YL A (Ngara) -Match Abandoned
NPCA DIVISION ONE
SIR ALI: Sir Ali B vs Stray Lions B-Match Abandoned
NGARA SC: SCLPS YL B 132/7 (12.0Ov); Ngara SC B 84/7 (12.0 Ov)-SCLPS YL B won by 48 runs
GI: Obuya A 121/9 (20.0 Ov); GI A 123/5 (16.4 Ov); GI won by 5 wickets
Jamhuri: Swami B 139/6 (20.0 Ov); Ruaraka B 96/10 (18.3 Ov)-Swami B won by 43 runs
SU Nairobi: Sikh Union B 114/4 (20.0 Ov); Kanbis B 115/2 (16.3 Ov)-Kanbis B won by 8 wickets
NPCA DIVISION 2
NRB GYMKHANA: Obuya B 87/9 (20.0 Ov); Nrb Gymkhana B 90/3 (11.3 Ov)-Gymkhana B won by 7 wickets
NRB JAFFERY’S: Jaffrey’s 151/4 (20.0 Ov); Sikh Union Development 107/9 (20.0)-Jaffrey’s won by 44 runs
EASTLEIGH GROUNDS: GI B 104/7 (20.0 Ov); Kanbis Dev. 106/5 (14.1 Ov)-Kanbis won by 5 wickets
VIRAJ INT. ACADEMY: Stray Lions C 88/10 (19.0 Ov)-Wolves A 89/3 (12.0 Ov)-Wolves won by 7 wickets
NRB JAFFERY’S: Nairobi Royal Club 191/2 (20.0 Ov); Medics CC A 7/2 (1.4)-Match Abandoned
SAIFEE PARK: Legends CC A 113/6 (16.0 Ov); An-nadil Jamaly CC A (Yet To Bat)-Match Abandoned
VIRAJ INT. ACADEMY: Wolves CC B 76/7 (20.0 Ov); Stray Lions D 77/2 (8.5 Ov); Stray Lions B won by 8 wickets
