Ruaraka wins maiden NPCA Super League title

Ruaraka A defeated home team Sikh Union by 168 runs to lay their hands on a maiden Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Super Division 50-Overs League title.

Indefatigable Chandresh Hirani (101 from 67balls), dangerman Sachin Gill (79 off 97 deliveries) and Maxwell Swaminathan (62 from 54 balls) were the star performers for the indomitable Thika Road outfit which ended their spirited run with an unassailable 48 points.

Ruaraka had previously won the then KCA title as Kathiawar Sports Club, a name that rekindles some fond memories with great names; like Suresh Joshi, Anil Lakhani and Harish Sumaria, to name but a few.

Racking up their maiden NPCA title was such a great feeling for the Thika Road outfit which has since displayed resilience and the much-needed winning touch on their way up.

Ruaraka star batsman Sachin Gill was all smiles after his team won their first league title since the inception of the NPCA League as well as being named the league season's Most Valuable Player (MVP) ahead of teammate Pushkar Sharma.

"Pushkar, Swaminathan and myself had some good runs on the crease. Pushkar has played some brilliant innings this season and has been in good form lately. Ruaraka have been the team that everyone would like to beat for the last one and a half years," Sachin said.

Kanbis ends the second leg on a high

In other matches, Kanbis beat Stray Lions by a massive 200 runs at their Eastleigh High School home turf to settle for second in the competition with 44 points.

Stray Lions' loss to Kanbis saw them wrap up their league campaign in third place with 40 points.

Obuya Academy A made the second leg's biggest upset when they dealt Swamibapa A 31-run blow at the latter's Nairobi Jaffery’s home ground.

Obuya, however, had to contend with playing second fiddle to the misfiring Swamibapa A, who incidentally wrapped up the league in fourth with 28 points.

Obuya won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 120 for 10 in 38.0 Overs. In reply, the Swamis were bowled out for a paltry 89 in 19.0 Overs contrary to all expectations.

Kanbis maintained their 100 per cent win record at home in the league season and held their heads high after their last fixture.

"I think going unbeaten in the second round was a great comeback from losing 3 in a row in the last round. I think those games are the game which cost us the title, but no complaints we played with local players whereas other teams played with 3-5 pros,” Kanbis skipper, Dhiren Gondaria said.

"I'm proud of the boys, the way they have played throughout the league season and how they gave experienced overseas players a run for their money. They have shown that Kanbis is moving on the right track," he added.

Jadhav misses the rare 1000mark

Meanwhile, Stray Lions' hitman Shubham Jadhav was left to rue missed opportunities as curtains came down on the NPCA League season.

Jadhav was chasing a rare 1000 runs from 14 innings but failed in his attempt after managing a cumulative total of 966.

He also failed to steer this side, Stray Lions to second place though he ended the league as the highest run scorer.

Pushkar wrapped up the league as the second-best run scorer with 730 followed by Sachin on 692 and Rakep Patel of Kanbis on 633.

Rakep ended the league with a century (116 off 82 deliveries) to attest to his exhilarating displays and good form in the season.

Kanbis won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 404 for 7 in 50.0 overs, while Stray Lions were bowled out for 204 in 34.2 overs.

Home team Samaj A defeated Nairobi Gymkhana by 8wickets to end the league season in fifth with 24 points.