• Chasing a target of 165, Stray Lions rediscovered their good form later in their innings to pull through when Bhagath did the unexpected.
• Stray Lions skipper, Tanzeel Sheikh, said: “It’s an incredible feeling winning this dramatic final. Winning it off the last ball is even merrier.
Image: HANDOUT
Indian professional Bhagath Varma has described his match-winning antics in the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) T20 Cup final as his best feeling since joining Stray Lions earlier in the year.
Bhagath sent hundreds of Stray Lions A fans into a frenzy with a towering match-winning six as they beat rivals Swamibapa ‘A’ by five wickets to claim the Super Division T20 trophy.
Chasing a target of 165, Stray Lions rediscovered their good form later in their innings to pull through when Bhagath did the unexpected.
“We were sure the wicket was good to play. We knew we would chase anything between 170 and 180. We had a plan to stay through the end and it happened,” said Bhagath.
On his last ball, he said: “I just went for it. I didn’t know I would hit it. It was just one ball away and one good hit.”
“It’s always a good feeling winning a final for your team. We believed in ourselves and gave it our best shot. You always hope to fight to the end.”
Stray Lions skipper, Tanzeel Sheikh, said: “It’s an incredible feeling winning this dramatic final. Winning it off the last ball is even merrier. Congratulations to the boys and Swamibapa as well for a well-fought final. Bhagath hit the ball well. We believed in him to us and he did. He had an incredible game.”
Swamibapa A won the toss and elected to bat first. They savoured a good start in the first innings; setting a decent target of 165 for nine in their allotted 20.0 overs. Chasing the target, the Lions hit 166 for five in 20.0 overs to carry the day.
Bhagath was named man of the match with 84 off 44 deliveries while Swami’s Dhwanil Patel smacked 77 off 49 balls. Bhagath hit eight boundaries and five sixes.
The tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) was Cutchi Leva’s Manish Kerai while Swamibapa ‘A’ skipper Rushabh Patel was the best batsman with 416 runs.
Swamis’ veteran batsman Maurice Ouma was left to rue the last ball that denied the 2023 T20 champions back-to-back titles.
Ouma, a former national team skipper, said: “Basically, Bhagath took the game away from us, single-handedly. We had our plans when we were going to defend the 165, and we stuck to our game plan until the 12th over. But again, we lost it on the 13th and 14th when we gave them too many runs. That brought them (Stray Lions) back to the game.”
NPCA Honorary secretary Narendra Patel, said: “We’ve had eight good weeks of competitive cricket, with Cutchi Leva ‘A’ topping the group stages for the first time, which goes to show the improvement of teams across board.”
“The 50 Overs League champions (Ruaraka) could not qualify for the knockout stage. I must also admit that we have seen quite a few youngsters perform well. That’s a good sign.”
NPCA chairman, Kantilal Rabadia, remarked: “T20 is usually more exciting than the 50 overs League. The high-flying professionals, the teams, the level of competition and the fighting spirit make it brilliant.”
It was a double celebration for the Lions after their ‘B’ side beat Kanbis ‘B’ by seven wickets to bag the Division One title at Nairobi Gymkhana.