Nairobi Invitational Twenty20 coordinator Thota Sreenivas has said that this weekend’s fixtures will go on despite directive from the government to limit gatherings.
“As of now, the matches will go on as planned. If the situation forces us to postpone the matches we will do that,” he said.
Unlike other events like football league matches that attract huge crowds, both local and international cricket matches do not attract huge crowds.
Following a week’s break, champions Kanbis face a tough battle in their quest to defend the title when they take on leaders Sir Ali and Swamibapa at Eastleigh High School this weekend.
With three matches to play and four points behind the two leaders — Sir Ali and Swamibapa (24 points each), Kanbis need only one win to clinch a place in the knockouts.
It will be the first time, Kanbis will be clashing with Sir Ali since the semifinals of the NICL 50 overs tournament. In this match, Sir Ali shockingly eliminated Kanbis to book a place in the final where they lost to Swamibapa.
Since then, a lot of positives have happened in the Sir Ali camp to see them top the standing. Among them is the inclusion of Faiz Ahmed, Usama Ahmed and Amol Pander, who have provided stability to the team.
A loss for Kanbis on Saturday will mean that they will face Swamibapa on Sunday wounded, making the encounter a must-watch. Meetings between the two sides have recently attracted more attention due to the growing rivalry among them.
“It’s that kind of a match that you want to play. Our meeting with Kanbis somehow manages to bring the best out of each player. Emotions run very high among each player which in the end makes the match a must-watch for the fans,” Swamibapa bowler James Ngoche said.
In the two matches, the hosts will bank heavily on their hard-hitting batting to stop their visitors. Rakep Patel, Nelson Odhiambo and Dhiren Gondaria have recently proved that they still have what takes to torment bowlers while Narendra Patel seems to have recaptured his form if his knocks in the last three matches is anything to go by.
Odhiambo said his side will give the two matches the seriousness they deserve in their hunt for a knockout slot.
“Of course, it will be a tough weekend for us but we will give it our best. We have seen what these teams are capable of doing and so we can’t sit and wait. We will fight for every run and wicket,” Odhiambo said.
