Stray Lions ‘A’ defeat Kanbis ‘A’ to maintain flawless run in NPCA T20 league

Stray Lions A team continued with their perfect start in the ongoing NPCA Super Division T20 tournament with a thrilling victory over rivals Kanbis A at Nairobi Jaffrey’s.

Stray Lions Chairman Thota Sreenivas expressed satisfaction over the club’s winning streak in Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 League saying that his players have achieved their target.

Stray Lions A ascended to the summit of the T20 Super Division League with a 3-run advantage over hard-fighting Kanbis A at Nairobi Jaffery’s. On Saturday, Stray Lions A handed hosts Ruaraka a 6-wicket blow.

“I’m so happy with the team’s performance and proud of their commitment. Staying on top of the table is a happy feeling with two more games to play in the league stage before it enters into knockouts,” Sreenivas said.

Stray Lions A won the toss and elected to bat first; losing dangerman Shubham Jadhav and Aman Gandhi within power-play.

But Irfan Karim played the anchor role whilst Neil Mugabe and Tanzeel Sheikh played some aggressive innings.

When fielding, Stray Lions Aarnav Patel took a brilliant one-handed diving catch to dismiss Kanbis skipper and danger man Dhiren Gondaria. Dhiren trudged back to the pavilion having scored 47 off 37 balls.

“Aarnav’s catch was the turning point in the game as Dhiren was playing really well prior to his exit, quipped Thota. Vinod Rabadia also contributed a solid 60 off 32 deliveries.

For the second day running, opener Irfan Karim was one of Stray Lions’ standout player hitting 46 off 42 balls, to compliment his previous day’s unbeaten 89 off 65

deliveries. But Kanbis’ Vinod Rabadia turned out to be the leading scorer with a cool 60 off 32 deliveries.

In another Super Division match, SCLPS YL A defeated hosts Nairobi Gymkhana by 53 runs to keep their hopes for a Top four finish alive and qualify for the knockout round.

At the Sikh Union Club ground, Obuya Academy A suffered 83-run loss to Sikh Union A. The Sikhs posted 177 for the loss of 8 wickets in their innings, with valuable contributions of 32 from Sukhdeep Singh and a well calculated 33 by Nehemiah Odhiambo. Obuya Academy collapsed for a paltry 94 in 17 overs.

Meanwhile, Stray Lions’ unbeaten run has catapulted them to the summit of the log with 20 points from five matches.

Ruaraka A, Kanbis A and SCLPS A tie on 12 points but the Thika Road troops occupy second spot on a superior run-rate of 1.846.

Following Saturday’s loss, Ruaraka recovered well in time to vanquish defending champions Swamibapa A by 8-wickets.

Ruaraka A won the toss and put Swamibapa in to bat. Swamibapa posted a decent total of 172/6 in their 20 overs with Dhwanil Patel top scoring with 71 off 44 deliveries. Ruaraka A chased the target in 18.4 overs with Pushkar Sharma top scoring with a fine 74 off 42 deliveries and Sachin Gill finishing with an unbeaten 47 runs off 36 deliveries.

Ruaraka star Sachin Gill was left to rue their loss to Stray Lions: “On Saturday, I suffered fever and diarrhea, got out on 0 and didn’t bowl. The team performed well but lost to Stray Lions in the finishing overs. We lost in the last 4 overs as they (Stray Lions) needed 42 of the last 4 overs then we missed a stumping that cost us the game. The bowlers that bowled in the last 3 overs were not up to the mark. Sunday, we played better and I also participated fully and it ended in our favor.”

Rushab Patel on the other hand was left to rue the poor bowling show from his bowlers as the depleted bowling attack missing Peter Koech and Yash Talati through injuries struggled to apply any pressure on the Ruaraka batting unit. Peter Koech, the lead pace bowler unfortunately got injured in a minor accident.

Ngara Sports Club A top the second tier Division One with a superior run rate over Stray Lions. Both teams savor a cumulative total of 20 points.

An-nadil Jamaly tops in Division Two also with a better run-rate than Pirates Cricket Club after both teams have accumulated 12 points.