- Ngara won by 17 runs
- Legends won the toss and elected to bat first
- Legends’ Navpreet Singh named MVP
Ngara Sports Club B are the winners of this year’s Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Division Two T20 League following brilliant displays at Sikh Union Club ground.
The Piyushkumar Patel led outfit had their title campaign effectively sewn up when their crease adversaries Legends Cricket Club failed to beat the target set by Ngara in the morning innings.
Legends won the toss and elected to field first with Ngara B setting a decent target of 172 for 3 in 20.0 overs.
In reply, Legends (155/7 in 20.0 overs) started off well with openers Raj Shetty (81 off 54 balls) and Navpreet Singh (24 off 19 deliveries) putting on a good show before both were caught out by namesakes Piyush and Milind Patel respectively.
Asked where the game was lost, Thika based Legends skipper Kranti Kumar had this to say: “Both teams played well. We won the toss but decided to bowl first because of the morning conditions. However, they (Ngara) batted extremely well as they took the risks when it really mattered.”
NPCA title loss tough to take in
Kumar continued: “From our end, when we were batting in first 10 overs, the game was well in our hands but the required run rate was quite high and we had to keep pushing. Overall, I think the game changed when Raj Shetty got out.”
Ngara’s soft-spoken skipper Piyush heaped praise on their Coach Martin Suji for guiding them to their towering title success: ‘The boys are over the moon. The hard work they have put in throughout the T20 season has now paid off and finally we have this coveted trophy in our mitts.”
Asked how batting first played out in a Cup final, Piyush expounded; “Initially, when we started our game; we applied our basics well. Our Coach Martin Suji gave us good guidance through and through. When we lost the toss and they put us to bat first -in our midst we set up high targets. I must commend our openers Jitesh Patel ((36 off 46) and Murtaza Abass (60 off 41 ball) for a job well done.”
Ngara who finished second in Group A of the League made it into the final following a 46- run win over An-nadil Jamaly Cricket Club A earlier in Saturday’s Qualifier Two at Sikh Union grounds.
Ngara had initially beaten Stray Leopards B by 5 wickets in the Eliminator in a Match played at Ruaraka on March 10.
Legends, on the other hand, sailed through to the final in Q1 after defeating An-nadil Jamaly by 7 wickets at Ruaraka Sports Club on March 9.
During Prize giving at Sikh Union, NPCA Hon Secretary Narendra Patel aka NK renewed the call for teams to build capacity in women’s cricket.
NPCA to start Women’s League
NPCA intends to start a women’s league and a separate under 19 championships to shore up its programs, by and large.
“It’s my humble request to all teams across the board to strive creating an enabling environment for more women to join the sport. This is in line with our vision of inclusivity.”
“The priority is getting the structures in place and to give equal opportunity, to young women. The essence is to extend the same opportunities for ladies to play cricket at elite level same as their male counterparts,” NK said.
NPCA has co-opted two ladies into its Executive Committee to spearhead growth of women’s cricket in the city.
The Prize Giving Ceremony also rewarded Ajay Hirani of Meru CC in absentia as the season’s highest run score with 342 runs.
Lokesh Anand Legends CC was feted as the best bowler with a total 16 wickets in nine innings.
Raj Shetty of the Legends team was feted as the best fielder with a total of 11 dismissals achieved in 8 innings.
Navpreet Singh of Legends team was the season’s most valuable player (MVP) with a total of 51.076 beating Joms Joy (43.166) of Stray Leopards B.
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