All systems go as Ruaraka faces Kanbis A in title-determining match

Ruaraka Sports Club A side will be declared the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Super Division 50-Over League Champions on Sunday should they decimate Kanbis A at the latter's backyard on Sunday.

A win against Kanbis will hand the indefatigable Thika Road troops an unassailable 48-point mark with only one match day to spare in the 8-team first-tier league.

Both teams parade some of the country's most prolific batsmen, and it will be interesting to see just how it pans out at Kanbis' Eastleigh High backyard.

Experts predict a high-scoring encounter from both side's run-hungry batsmen, but Kanbis' skipper Dhiren Gondaria believes it's a critical balancing act between scoring and winning the encounter.

"It’s honestly a must-win situation if we harbour any chance of retaining the title. We will give it our best and see how it goes," Dhiren said.

On the other side, Sachin Gill thinks it will be hard for any team to stop Ruaraka’s title aspirations at this juncture.

Stray Lions who tie with Kanbis on 36 points, also have an outside chance and the hope of both teams is for Ruaraka to lose both their remaining two matches. However, thereafter, the Net run rate comes into play, and Ruaraka still have an edge so far, unless things get murky for them at the end!

The Lions will host Swamibapa at Nairobi Jaffrey’s. The spotlight will be on Subham Jadhav, an overseas star for Stray Lions as he chases the Coveted 1000 runs mark in the season.

Swamibapa on the other hand have had an inconsistent and disappointing season and will be looking for a better performance from their batsman to finish the season on a high.

The batting and fielding department has been a disappointment this season which has cost them some crucial matches.

While Kanbis A and Ruaraka A will be fighting for points at Eastleigh ground, their B sides will be at Ruaraka for the NPCA Division One title.

The League statistics for Super Division released by NPCA this week clearly show the dominance of Ruaraka and Kanbis batsmen in the top 10 run-getters.

 Sachin Gill with 613 runs, Pushkar Sharma with 703 runs, Dhiren Gondaria with 549 runs, and Rakep Patel with 546 runs will be leading their respective teams' charge for a final battle for the trophy.

Kanbis will peg their hopes on Dhiren Gondaria, Sachin Bhudia and Rakep Patel.

In the ruthless Ruaraka batting order, Sachin Gill and his fellow Ruaraka pro Pushkar Sharma anticipate a good partnership which they have recently enjoyed with the team.

"Pushkar and Maxwell Swaminathan have played brilliant innings. Pushkar has been in good form lately and it’s been a good effort for us to chase down totals easily. If you consider how Ruaraka has been performing over the past one and a half years, you'll concur with me that the boys have been in top form.

"We have a team that everyone would like to defeat as we have been on top of our performance for the past year. We lost the 2022 title by a whisker, but this time round, we are not leaving anything to chance,” Sachin said.

Asked about the Ruaraka -Kanbis fixture, Sachin said: "Yes, if we win the match on Sunday, we are home and dry, we win the League and I'm glad that even if we lose, we can still recover in our last match."

In another Super Division encounter, Obuya Cricket Academy A will host Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS YL A) at Lenana School. Sikh Union A will play Nairobi Gymkhana at the Gymkhana ground.

Division One will also have some mouthwatering matches lined up.

Leaders Kenya Kongonis A have a date with Samaj B side at Cutchi Leva whilst Goan Institute A will take on Sikh Union B in the latter's backyard.

Obuya B and Kenya Kongonis B will face off at Nairobi Club while Wolves Cricket Club B and Swamibapa Development have a date at Goan Institute.