- The play-offs had been initially set for last weekend
- Cutchi Leva have been the dark horses
- Champions Swamibapa face Kanbis
The eagerly awaited Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) T20 Super Division eliminator (3&4) and qualifier (1&2) playoffs have been moved to Saturday due to poor pitch conditions.
Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL A) who topped the 8-team Super Division league and will face second placed Stray Lions A.
Kanbis A, who finished fourth in the league, will take on Champions Swamibapa A in the eliminator.
The 50 Overs League Champions Ruaraka are the notable absentees in the top four after finishing fifth on the log.
Cutchi Leva have been the dark horses of the ongoing T20 season with scintillating performances which saw them hit the log summit with vim and vigor.
SCLPS YL A tied on points (24) with Stray Lions but ascending to the top of the table with a superior run rate of 0.938 against the latter’s 0.787.
Champions Swamibapa, despite a shaky start to the season, took third spot with 20 points whilst Kanbis A managed 16points to occupy forth.
In order to qualify for the NPCA final, the top two teams play in the qualifier play off while number 3 and 4 square out in the eliminator.
Two NPCA matches abandoned due to rain
Irfan Karim of Stray Lions during a past match
NPCA Hon Secretary Narendra Patel (aka NK) said that the two matches were abandoned to an unplayable square.
“Due to the current wet weather, the conditions at Sikh Union remained unplayable both in the morning and afternoon sessions, hence the postponement of the eliminator and qualifier matches to Saturday,” NK explained.
What this means is that teams have an extra week to prepare for the two fixtures which hold the key to the final.
NPCA Fixtures Secretary Vishal Bhojani revealed that the venue for the two matches will be announced in due course.
Meanwhile, Cutchi Leva were in imperious form on Saturday when they handed Kanbis A a 4-wicket blow at the latter’s Eastleigh High School backyard in another rain curtained game.
Hosts Kanbis A won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 123 for 7 14.0 overs.
The Eastleigh side suffered a setback when their skipper Dhiren Gondaria was sent back to the pavilion after scoring only one run. Pushpak Kerai was Kanbis’ highest scorer with half a century whilst Narendra Patel scored 20.
Swamibapa hand Star Lions first defeat
Chasing the target, Cutchi Leva managed 124 for six in 13.4 overs to carry the day. Ravi Rabadia the wicket keeper batsman scored a quick 46 with 3 boundaries and 3 maximums to guide his side to an exciting victory.
NPCA Champions Swamibapa A handed Stray Lions their first defeat of the season with a 7-wicket advantage at Jaffery’s.
The match was reduced to 14.0 Overs in line with the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) which is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score (number of runs needed to win) for the team batting second in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances.
Vraj Patel 3/22 and Mitesh Sanghani 2/23 were main wicket takers as Swamibapa’s bowling attack restricted Stray Lions high flying batting unit 102/8 in their allotted 14 overs.
Swamibapa chased the target in 12.1 over with the loss of only 3 wickets. Led by their inform captain Rushab Patel scored 46 runs off 30 balls before Harendra Kerai applied the finishing touches to a comfortable chase scoring 19 runs off 11 balls.
In another NPCA league match at Lenana, Nairobi Gymkhana defeated Obuya Cricket Academy by 8 wickets.
Legend Collins Obuya was the standout player in the Obuya team after he smacked a 76. Gymkhana’s Reyan Kassam scored 68 to his credit whilst his teammate Yash Gohil managed a 45.
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