Kanbis A Captain Dhiren Gondaria has sung the praises of openers Pushpak Kerai and Narendra Patel “Nandu” in their second straight Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 League match.
Dhiren smacked half a century as Kabis A defeated hosts Sikh Union by 6 wickets. Pushpak was the match’s third top run scorer with 40 runs whilst Nandu scored 21 runs.
Dhiren: “The way we came back in the first innings was a positive note to take, but yet was not happy when the last wicket got 40+ runs at the end but our openers Pushpak and Nandu gave us good relief after smacking them in the powerplay and we ended up chasing the target under 15 overs.”
He added: “Our fielding is something to watch out as we had dropped few which would have cost us badly but I understand that guys are from a 5 months break and something like this is expected but, then again, I would urge them to look into it, otherwise it was good chase.”
Sikh Union won the toss and elected to bat first but were bowled out for 145 in 19.3 overs. In reply, Kanbis managed 145 for four in 15.1 overs to register their second straight win of the season.
Satish Hirani was Sikh Union’s top scorer with a 43 while skipper Sukhdeep Singh scored 25 runs.
–Lions Roar–
Stray Lions also claimed their second straight win of theT20 season with a 27-run advantage against Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL A) at Nairobi Jaffery’s. SCLPS YL A won the toss and elected to field first.
Put into bat, Stray Lions amassed 104-3 with newly signed middle order pro Bhagath Varma anchoring their innings with 35 off 24 balls, whilst skipper and hitman Shubham Jadhav smacked 29 off 13 deliveries.
Opener Aman Gandhi made 10 off 15 balls before being caught out by Harshin Varsani.
Ruaraka, led by captain Nitish Hirani, got off to a flying start with openers Chandresh Hirani (wk) and Pushkar Sharma smashing impressive scores.
Chandresh made 28 off 23 balls whilst Sharma scored 46 off 35 deliveries. Ruaraka’s Neelakash Tambe also took two stunning catches to pile pressure on their crease adversaries.
Ruaraka’s Sachin commented: “In terms of batting, we did start well. But our set batsman threw their wicket that should not happen… in the end we crossed the line luckily today. On fielding, we were good.”
Sachin candidly admitted that their batting has been affected by the absence of their pro Maxwell Swaminathan and Anjinkia Beloshe.
“Our batting lineup has definitely been affected by the absence of the two pros (Maxwell and Anjikia) and so is our bowling…but it is a good opportunity for the local players to make a place for themselves for the coming season.”
DIVISION ONE RESULTS
•Kanbis B beat SCLPS YL B by 17 runs
•Wolves CC A beat Kenya Kongonis A by b35 runs
•Stray Lions B beat Swamibapa B by 55 runs
•Goan Institute beat Sikh Union B by 5 wickets
•Ngara A beat Ruaraka B by 103 runs
