•The Piyushkumar Patel-led outfit had their title campaign effectively sewn up when their crease adversaries Legends Cricket Club failed to beat the target they set in the morning innings.
•Legends won the toss and elected to field first with Ngara setting a decent target of 172 for 3 in 20.0 overs.
Image: HANDOUT
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 they set in the morning innings.
Legends won the toss and elected to field first with Ngara setting a decent target of 172 for 3 in 20.0 overs.
In reply, Legends (155/7 in 20.0 overs) started 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.
Thika-based Legends’ skipper Kranti Kumar said: “Both teams played well. We won the toss but decided to bowl first because of the morning conditions. However, they (Ngara) batted well as they took the risks when it mattered.”
“From our end, when we were batting in the first 10 overs, the game was in our hands but the required run rate was quite high. 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.
“The boys are over the moon. The hard work they have put in throughout the T20 season has paid off and we have this coveted trophy,” said Piyush.
“When we started our game, we applied our basics well. Coach Suji gave us good guidance through and through. I must commend our openers Jitesh Patel (36 off 46) and Murtaza Abass (60 off 41) for a job well done.”
Ngara, who finished second in Group ‘A’ of the league, reached 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 five 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 the Sikh Union, NPCA Hon Secretary Narendra Patel aka NK renewed the call for teams to build capacity in women’s cricket.
NPCA intends to start a women’s league and 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 to create 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 giving equal opportunity to young women. The essence is to extend the same opportunities for ladies to play cricket at the elite level same as their male counterparts,” NK said.
NPCA has co-opted two ladies into its Executive Committee to spearhead the growth of women’s cricket in the city. Ajay Hirani of Meru Cricket Club was rewarded in absentia. He had the season’s highest run score with 342 runs.
Lokesh Anand Legends was feted as the best bowler with a total of 16 wickets in nine innings.
Raj Shetty of the Legends was feted as the best fielder with a total of 11 dismissals achieved in eight innings.
Navpreet Singh of the 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.