Kanbis ‘A’ captain Dhiren Gondaria says he is proud of openers Pushpak Kerai and Narendra ‘Nandu’ Patel after winning their second straight Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 league match.
Dhiren smacked half-a-century as Kanbis ‘A’ defeated hosts Sikh Union by six wickets. Pushpak was the match’s third top run scorer with 40 while Nandu scored 21.
Dhiren said: “The way we came back in the first innings was awesome but I was not happy when the last wicket got 40+ runs at the end. However, our openers Pushpak and Nandu gave a good account of themselves in the power-play and we ended up chasing the target in under 15 overs.”
He added: “We must review our fielding considering we had dropped few which would have cost us badly. I understand guys are just back from a 5-month break and this is expected but I would urge them to look into it.”
Sikh Union won the toss and elected to bat 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 43 while skipper Sukhdeep Singh scored 25 runs.
Stray Lions also claimed their second straight win of the T20 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.
atting first, Stray Lions amassed 104-3 with newly signed middle order pro Bhagath Varma anchoring their innings with 35 off 24 balls.
Skipper and hitman Shubham Jadhav smacked 29 off 13 deliveries while 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 (wicketkeeper) and Pushkar Sharma smashing impressive scores.
Chandresh made 28 off 23 balls while Sharma scored 46 off 35 deliveries. Ruaraka’s Neelakash Tambe also took two stunning catches to pile pressure on their crease adversaries.
Hirani admitted that their batting has been affected by the absence of their pros Maxwell Swaminathan and Anjinkia Beloshe.
“Our batting lineup has been affected by the absence of the two pros (Maxwell and Anjikia) and so is our bowling. However, this is a good opportunity for the local players to showcase their talent.”
