NPCA League: Ruaraka maul Stray Lions to stay top

It was a day of all-rounders in the Nairobi Province Cricket Association (NPCA) Super 50 Overs League, top-of-the-table fixture between hosts Ruaraka Sports Club A and Stray Lions A on Sunday.

The hosts returned to winning ways with a nine-wicket romp over Stray Lions, to maintain their position at the top of the table with 40 points.

Kanbis Sports Club A and Stray Lions are joint second with 32 points, but the former are ranked ahead due to high run rate advantage.

Ruaraka won the toss and chose to field. The visitors set a target of 245 for the loss of 10 wickets in 49.4 overs. Ruaraka reached the target in 45.1 Overs for the loss of a wicket.

After last weekend's away defeat to Swamibapa A team by 59 runs, the
hosts unleashed all their winning formula by exposing all their all-rounders in the match.

“We wanted the maximum points by all means. We could not afford losing it would have left the title race wide open,” said Ruaraka captain Nitish Hirani.

“We won the toss and chose to field first because we have very good all-rounders who can bowl very well to restrict opponents to a lower score and playing as host the ground is better at batting in the afternoon than during morning hours.”

In the first inning, Stray Lions A openers Irfan Karim and Shubham
Jadhav offered a good resistance building a partnership to score 68
runs from 72 balls until Karim was trapped for Leg before wicket (LBW)
by Ruaraka’s Pushkar Sharma in the 13th Over.

Batsman Neil Mugabe who scored 40 runs off 63 balls joined Jadhav on the crease to build a partnership only to be caught by Ruaraka Chandresh Hirani off man-of-the-match Sachin Gill bowling, who took two wickets and gave away 36 runs and offered very good score of unbeaten 94 runs from 123 balls to bag the maximum points in favour of the hosts.

Stray Lions Batter Jadhav offered more stability to score 112 runs
from 117 balls. He terrorized Ruaraka’s bowlers with two sixes and 11 fours
before he was sent back to the pavilion in the 43 over to destabilized the visitors’ batsmen.

In the second inning played on a sunny Sunday afternoon Ruaraka all-rounder Chandresh Hirani, who is also top order batsman scored 35 runs from five fours and singles, before he was bowled out by Amin Amish in the ninth over off 29 balls, while the score was at 60 runs.

Sachin Gill joined Pushkar Sharma on the crease to build a strong partnership before Sharma was dropped twice by Stray Lions fielders to
finished the match unbeaten 103 from 112 Balls and Sachin Gill unbeaten
94 in the 45 Over.

In other matches played on Sunday, Swamibapa A team beat Nairobi Gymkhana A team by 61runs at Nairobi Jaffrey's Sports Club, Kanbis Sports Club A team beat Sri Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS) by 139 runs at SCLPS Cricket ground.

In the other match played at Sikh Union Club, visitors Obuya Academy A thrashed Sikh Union A team by four wickets.