Cricket: Titans bounce back with Mafuko win
Purple Dot Ndovus batsman Emmanuel Bundi (front) plays a delivery under pressure from Mafuko Mavericks wicket keeper Irfan Karim during Swaminarayan Pro T20 tournament at Shree Cutchi Leva Samal Patel grounds on October 30, 2022 .Mafuko won by 17 runs.
What you need to know:
- There was an act of sportsmanship in the match after all-rounder Dwayne Smith passed his man-of-the-match award to Mavericks' captain Dhiren Gondaria
- Smith had been crowned Man-of-the-Match courtesy of his two for 15 but he opted to pass the gong to the Kenya international after he impressed him with his brilliant performance
- Gondaria spiced his impressive performance with seven fours and four sixes
After falling by three wickets to Mihadev Strikers in their opening match of Swaminarayan Pro20 tournament, Hari OM Titans bounced back to winning ways with a five-run romp over Mafuko Mavericks.
There was an act of sportsmanship in the match held Monday night at the Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj grounds in Nairobi, after all-rounder Dwayne Smith passed his man-of-the-match award to Mavericks' captain Dhiren Gondaria.
Smith is a former West Indies all-rounder and ex-IPL winner.
Mavericks began brightly the six-team franchise tournament after they defeated Purple Dot Ndovus by 17 runs Sunday night.
In their second match of the tournament, Titans captained by Kenya international Sachin Bhudia won the toss and elected to bat.
They set a target of 169 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs of their innings. Mavericks were unsuccessful in their chase, hitting 164 runs all-out in 19.4 overs in their innings.
Gondaria who locally turns out for the Kanbis Sports Club “A” in the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association 50 Overs Super League was outstanding as he hit 80 runs off 53 balls before he was caught by Jinay Hirani off Smith’s delivery.
Gondaria spiced his impressive performance with seven fours and four sixes.
Smith had been crowned Man-of-the-Match courtesy of his two for 15 but he opted to pass the gong to the Kenya international after he impressed him with his brilliant performance.
“Gondaria almost won Mavericks the match. The way he batted and took the game to the end was very good. It is good to see that we have young players that understand the game so well,” said Smith.
Gondaria said he was happy to see his efforts being recognised by "a top player like Smith."
Titans’ captain Bhudia said: "It was a good comeback after we lost our opening match to Strikers. We had to regroup to set up a good game plan.”
He was Titans’ top scorer with 47 runs from 34 deliveries with six fours and a six. His team mate Dhyey Patel scored 42 runs from 31 balls including one four and three sixes.
With the win, Titans tied with Mombasa Cement Giants, Strikers and Mavericks on two points. Strikers and Play Master Warriors are Tuesday night scheduled to clash in the fifth match of the tournament that started last Saturday.
While strikers were looking to make it to two wins in two matches after their Saturday's win over Titans, Warriors were chasing for their first victory of the tournament. Warriors lost by 71 runs to Giants on Sunday.
The top four teams will progress to the semi-finals.
Proceeds collected from the tournament will be used to cater for the surgeries of at least 200 needy patients in Nairobi.
Collated results as of Monday
Saturday
Strikers beat Titans by three wickets
Sunday
Giants beat Warriors by 71 runs
Mavericks beat Ndovus by 17 runs
