Swami's face Sir Ali as Kanbis tackle Sikh Union in eliminator tie

Sir Ali Muslim Club A will be seeking to maintain their top form when they face Swamibapa A in a Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) T20 League Qualifier 1 match at Nairobi Gymkhana on Saturday.

In the Super Division eliminator, Kanbis -who are the reigning NPCA 50 over League champions – will play Sikh Union A in the Eliminator match also at Nairobi Jaffreys. Both matches are scheduled for 2:30 pm.

Since the arrival of their two Indian professional players led by Kashish Kanseja, Sir Ali team has since proved to be a tough nut to crack.

Swamis, under the guidance of skipper Rushab Patel, have also given a good account of themselves despite their 38-run loss to Sir Ali A at Jamuhuri High School grounds in the preliminaries.

"We will play according to our plans against Sir Ali," said Rusha Patel.

 Sir Ali Skipper Gurdeep Singh said: “We had a good game against Swamibapa last time when we beat them at Jamhuri. We got a good score on that pitch, scoring 150 plus, which would be difficult for our opponents to chase. Sir Ali are a formidable side, but we have set our goal to win the T20 this season,” Singh said. 

Meanwhile, Kanbis Captain Dhiren Ghondaria says his teammates are leaving nothing to chance in the eleminator match against Sikh Union A at Jaffreys.

“I am confident with the form of our bowlers and batters, they are working hard to get better game by game. We have good bowling options from (Emmanuel) Bundi to Nelo, Nischay to Pushpak and Nichay to Sachin Bhudia at the end and also our batting line up which is currently in the hot form to tackle their bowling unit.," expounded Dhiren.

Swamibapa's sterling form in the shorter version of the game has since propelled them to the summit of the T20 standings going into the playoffs. 

The winner of Qualifier 1 between Swamis and Sir Ali will get a direct ticket to the finals while the loser has another chance against winner of the eliminator.

Kanbis A who lost to Ruaraka A will be hoping to beat Sikhs in the Eliminator. The winner of the eliminator will face the loser of Qualifier 1 in the second qualifier for a place in the finals.

Division 1 has three matches on the cards this Saturday.

Kanisa B play Stray Leopards A at Eastleigh, while Ruaraka B have a date with Stray Lions B at Ruaraka. 

SCLPS will play Nairobi Gymkhana B at their Cutchi Leva backyard in Nairobi West.

SATURDAY FIXTURES

Eliminator: Kanbis A vs Sikh Union A (Nairobi Jaffreys 2:30 pm)

Qualifier 1: Swamibapa A vs Sir Ali A (2:30 pm Nbi Gymkhana)

Sunday: 2 pm

Qualifier 2: Winner Eliminator vs Loser QF 1

Sunday 26-02-23 Nbi Jaffreys

9:30am Kanbis Dev vs Stray Cheetah 

2:00 pm Swamibapa Dev vs Nbi Jaffreys