Sir Ali Muslim Club will target consistent collective efforts instead of relying on just a couple of players to deliver the goods when they take on Kanbis in the final of the Nairobi Invitational Cricket League (NICL) Twenty20 tournament on Sunday.
Sir Ali defied all odds to reach their second straight final with a 101-runs win over Kanbis in the Qualifier One match last Saturday and skipper Gurdeep Singh expects the team to make a mark against the champions.
He said: “Through past tournaments, we have learnt that you cannot depend on just one or two players to win a game for you.”
Sir Ali has relied on the big-hitting Indian all-rounder Ashutosh Sharma and wicketkeeper Vinayak Shukla in their two encounters towards the final.
“If you want to win a big tournament, you have to come up as a team and that’s what we’re looking to do on Sunday,” Singh said.
He added that with players like Joseph Owino, Abdul Rehman and Tarandeep Singh in the ranks, the team is ‘mentally very fresh’.
“They don’t know what type of pressure they have to face. They love playing cricket, that’s why they are in this side and they are definitely enjoying this moment,” he said.
Singh said his teammates are also quite enthused by the prospect of playing in the final.
“We’re really enjoying this. As a cricketer, you always look forward to playing in a final. It feels good when you have everybody watching you in action and cheering or jeering at you,” he said.
Sir Ali’s performance has been received well by the club’s management, who have begun a drive to have fans back to the ground.
“When you’re playing well, you encourage fans to come and watch you. The team has been impressive and this has been received well by the fans who had been starving of action for a long time,” club co-ordinator of sports, Ashil Khan, said.
“We all know that Kenyan cricket fans have not watched some cricket for over two years and we hope the final will provide that. It’s our prayer that Kanbis fans will also come in numbers.”
